The Chicago Bears are headed into the 2026 offseason with a gaping hole in their secondary. More specifically, they don’t have a single safety under contract.
Chicago’s top five safeties from last year’s roster: Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, Elijah Hicks, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Jonathan Owens are all slated to hit unrestricted free agency when the league year opens in March.
With practice squad safety Gervarrius Owens the only player at the position currently under contract, the Bears will need at least two starters and some depth besides.
The Bears have made it clear they want to re-sign Byard, but considering the year he just had (he led the NFL in interceptions with seven and was named a first-team All-Pro), they’ll have some strong competition for his services. The strongest may come from the Dallas Cowboys.
Cowboys Could Challenge the Chicago Bears for the Services of Safety Kevin Byard in 2026 Free Agency
GettySafety Kevin Byard III of the Chicago Bears could be a top target for the Dallas Cowboys in 2026 free agency.
“Safety is an extremely deep free agent position (in free agency),” Cowboys Wire’s Reid D Hanson wrote on January 21.
“At the very least, Dallas is in need of one starting caliber safety. … Free agency offers players like Andre Cisco, Jalen Thompson, Kevin Byard, Reed Blankenship and Jaquan Brisker who would all represent significant upgrades.”
Byard is clearly the best of the group. He was named an AP first-team All-Pro for the third time in his career after leading the NFL with seven interceptions. He also finished with 93 tackles.
His intangibles will no doubt intrigue the Cowboys, who desperately lack leadership in their secondary. Byard served as a team captain in 2025, and was viewed as a leader inside Halas Hall. There’s no doubt he’ll garner interest. The question is whether the Bears can match the offer(s) he gets.
Bears Have Said They Want Byard Back
Gardner-Johnson played with his usual edge and finished with 51 tackles, 3.0 sacks and two interceptions. The Bears might want to bring him back on a one-year deal, but he could be a goner, too.
Hicks and Owens have been solid depth pieces, each finishing with 19 tackles. They are useful players, but neither has shown he can be a full-time starter. It remains to be seen if either will return.
Byard has also made it clear where he stands. He told Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times that remaining in Chicago is his first choice, but he also noted he’d do what was best for himself and his family when free agency hits.
“With the success that we all had this season as a team, I think a lot of guys on this team are going to be coveted around this league, honestly,” Byard said, per Finley. “And I think the same way the organization is always going to do what’s best for the team, I think I owe that to my family as well.”
“I think that Kevin is a special player, I have no problem saying that that is a player that we would like to have back,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles said on January 21. “But when you add the other safeties into that mix, and all of the other decisions that we have across the roster, cap restraints, things like that, it will be a challenge. But, that’s part of what we do.”
We’ll know soon enough if can keep Byard from signing elsewhere. If not, the Bears’ loss will absolutely be another team’s gain.
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