SAN FRANCISCO — Bears safety Kevin Byard is about a month away from free agency, and presumably a massive payday after an All-Pro season in which he led the NFL in interceptions, but he’d rather never hit the market.
Byard is hopeful to return to the Bears, and general manager Ryan Poles didn’t make any promises, but mentioned re-signing him as a goal if the team can make it work financially.
“I was one of the only players that he actually singled out, and it was awesome to see,” Byard told the Sun-Times on Monday at Pro Bowl practice. “I can’t say if it’s promising or not. There’s going to be effort on both sides to try to get something done, but who knows?
“I had a really good year this year and I know Poles and [coach] Ben Johnson have got a lot of decisions to make on a lot of guys on the team, so we’ll see who’s the top priority. I would hope that I am, but you just never know.”
He added that he would “love” to remain a Bear and “finish what we started” by making a run at the Super Bowl next season.
The next checkpoint for Byard is the NFL Scouting Combine at the end of the month, when agents and team executives converge in Indianapolis and deals tend to happen quickly.
The Bears, however, face a string of decisions in the secondary alone.
Both starting safeties, Byard and Jaquan Brisker, are unrestricted free agents, and for Brisker, it’s his first chance at a major deal after finishing his rookie contract. Cornerback Nahshon Wright and nickel cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson also will be free agents.
Byard turns 33 before next season and is one of the Bears’ oldest players, but left no doubt he’s still a star after playing for a modest $15 million over the last two seasons.
He started all 36 games, including the playoffs, and played nearly every snap. He had a league-high seven interceptions this season to earn his third Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections, something he hadn’t done since 2021 with the Titans.
“Age is nothing but a number,” Byard said. “It’s all about how you feel. Looking at me on film, I turned the clock back. If you can ball, you can ball.”
