Tag: Kevin Byard

Ex-Titans S Kevin Byard makes history in CUSA Hall of Fame

Former Titans safety Kevin Byard made history upon being voted into the Conference USA Hall of Fame.

Former Tennessee Titans and current Chicago Bears safety Kevin Byard is being honored for his impressive college career, and he made some history in the process.

It was revealed on Monday that the Middle Tennessee State University product has been elected to the Conference USA Hall of Fame.

Byard was a two-time First-Team All-CUSA selection and is MTSU’s all-time leader in interceptions, interception return yards and pick-sixes. He becomes the first defensive player to make the CUSA Hall of Fame.

After his stellar collegiate career, Byard was drafted in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Titans and proved to be a steal. Not only was he a great leader and role model, he also notched two First-Team All-Pros and two Pro Bowls while becoming one of the league’s best safeties.

Byard spent seven-plus seasons in Tennessee before he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles last season. Byard is now in Chicago after signing with the Bears in free agency.

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Eagles have 7th most amount of dead money salary cap hits in NFL for 2024

The Philadelphia Eagles $50 million in dead salary cap is the 7th most in the NFL

The Eagles have $27,451,062 in available cap space right now but could have a ton more if not for a $50 million dead salary cap hit that places Philadelphia among the top seven in the NFL, per Over The Cap.

The Eagles traded Haason Reddick this offseason and released Avonte Maddox before re-signing him at a lower salary. Other former Eagles included in the dead money are Marcus Mariota ($3,068,000), Kevin Byard ($1,386,000), Derek Barnett ($4,004,766), and Kyron Johnson ($104,964).

Additional money and salary cap space have been taken away after the retirements of Jason Kelce ($8,678,000) and Fletcher Cox ($4,200,000).

Bears defense expecting to be among the NFL’s best in 2024

Kevin Byard has high expectations for the Bears defense in 2024.

The Chicago Bears defense has high expectations heading into the 2024 season. They not only believe they can be but expect to be among the NFL’s top defenses.

Veteran safety Kevin Byard, who signed with the team this offseason, said the expectation in the locker room is this defense will be among the best in the league heading into the 2024 season. The defense’s success will be key considering the Bears have a rookie quarterback in Caleb Williams making his debut this season.

“I mean, we’re expecting to be a top defense,” Byard said last week at OTAs. “Anything less than that is a letdown. And also, just know full well that with having a younger quarterback, especially during the year, we have to get off to a fast start. I would say looking over the horizon or whatever, you never know how early in the season, as far as the offense with a lot of new pieces kind of meshing together, so as a defense we’ve go to make sure that we’re being a top defense.

“As we get later in the year and those guys are rolling, all three phases are rolling together, just being a defense we got to make sure that we’re holding it down our end of the bargain no matter what the score is, what the offense is doing, what anybody’s doing. We’ve got to make sure we’re a top defense. That’s what we expect, and we talk about that every single day, even on a day like we had today, the last couple periods it’s like, ‘Hey, we haven’t done anything. We’re just getting started.’ So that’s our plan, and that’s what we’re going to continue to work for every single day.”

Chicago didn’t completely overhaul the defense, like last offseason. So the high expectations stem from the current group in place (with a few additions, including Byard), which is coming off a strong finish in 2023.

The Bears have one of the best linebacker corps in the league with T.J. Edwards, Tremaine Edmunds and Jack Sanborn, who now have an entire season together under their belt. Chicago also has a potential top secondary with cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson along with safeties Jaquan Brisker and Byard. Head coach Matt Eberflus, who took over defensive play calling duties in Week 3 of last season, also proved to be an effective defensive coordinator.

If anything, the defensive line is the one question mark. And it’s a group that features Pro Bowl edge rusher Montez Sweat and some other young players, so there’s belief this unit can make progress in 2024.

If the Bears defense can get off to a strong start and make a statement, they could keep Chicago in contention for a playoff berth and make things easier for their rookie quarterback.

“When you look at the talent that’s on paper, it’s exciting to see,” Byard said. “But at the end of the day, we’ve got to put it together. What’s on paper doesn’t really matter. We’ve just got to continue to work every single day, make each other better. Obviously as we get closer to training camp, making sure that once we leave here, after minicamp and everything, guys are continuing to work, making sure that we come in so that we can hit the ground running when training camp starts.”

Kevin Byard’s message to Bears rookie Caleb Williams after rough practice

Following a rough practice, Kevin Byard told Caleb Williams the Bears defense is going to “keep making him better.”

The Chicago Bears kicked off organized team activities this week, which gave rookie quarterback Caleb Williams his first opportunity to practice with his veteran teammates.

While Williams and the offense had a strong outing on Monday, it sounds like the defense has been ahead of the offense at this point of the offseason, as expected. Which makes sense considering they’re in the third year of Matt Eberflus’ defense while the offense is still learning Shane Waldron’s new scheme.

Thursday’s practice, which was open to the media, was a rough outing for Williams and the offense. Down two starting receivers (Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze) and offensive linemen (Darnell Wright and Nate Davis), there were a lot of incomplete passes, interceptions and red-zone inefficiency during team drills.

“The first day. The offense really got after us,” said safety Kevin Byard. “[Williams] made some good throws. Some deep passes. He had a really good day. Today, we got after him.”

Following that rough practice on Thursday, Byard had a message for the rookie quarterback about the benefit of those kind of days.

“Not necessarily saying that he [Williams] had a terrible day, but days like this are gonna make you better,” Byard said. “So that’s our job and, like I said, obviously, just the first three days of practice he’s done a lot of positive things. He’s made some really great throws. Just coming in with that swag as a rookie quarterback, he doesn’t seem flustered by anything, so that’s exciting to see.”

Byard said the defense will continue to “make it as hard as possible” on Williams, which will ultimately benefit the team in the long run.

It’s far too early to overreact to May practices where Williams is getting his first action in Waldron’s offense. But going against a top defense in practice every day will be key for Williams as he acclimates to the NFL.

Bears’ Kevin Byard reacts to facing Titans in Week 1

Kevin Byard took to Twitter to react to the report that the Titans are facing his new team, the Bears, in Week 1.

The Tennessee Titans are reportedly opening their 2024 campaign against No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears, but they’ll also be facing off against an old friend, safety Kevin Byard.

According to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, the Bears will host the Titans in Week 1. The biggest storyline nationally will be the debut of Williams, but the biggest storyline locally will no doubt be the Kevin Byard revenge game.

Byard was traded by the Titans to the Philadelphia Eagles, where he had no shortage of struggles before being cut earlier this offseason. He then inked a two-year, $15 million deal with the Bears.

Byard took to social media on Wednesday to share his reaction to the Week 1 Titans game. He kept it short and sweet.

The Titans did not face the Eagles last season after the trade went down, so this will be Byard’s first time facing the Titans in his career. It would have been more sentimental had the game been in Nashville, but there will be feelings on both sides, nonetheless.

Byard won’t be the only former Titan on the Bears, as he’s joined by guard Nate Davis, defensive end DeMarcus Walker, kicker Cairo Santos, and fullback Khari Blasingame.

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Jaquan Brisker organizing offseason workout with Bears secondary

Matt Eberflus says Jaquan Brisker is orchestrating a workout with the Bears defense in California.

It’s common practice for NFL players to enjoy the extended time off following yet another physically taxing season.

They’ll often make sure they stay in shape by participating in individual workouts before reporting to their team’s headquarters for the start of the offseason program in April and voluntary OTAs in May, taking their first step toward getting ready for the next season.

Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker didn’t want to wait that long. Brisker invited the entire secondary to work out with him in California, with head coach Matt Eberflus saying the safety is getting everyone together “as we speak.”

Eberflus also noted that he’s excited for longtime Titans safety Kevin Byard to join the defense this year — a unit that many project to be one of the NFL’s more formidable squads next season.

The players, coaches and front office are saying and doing all the right things this offseason. General manager Ryan Poles had made several smart and integral offseason signing and brought a decisive end to the Justin Fields-Caleb Williams debate, sending him to Pittsburgh; Eberflus is beginning to win the favor of the fans by being so involved in several pivotal moves in the last couple of months, and locker room leaders like Brisker are making the extra effort to build chemistry and allow new guys, like Byard, to get extra time with his new teammates.

It’s been a productive offseason so far, with even more firepower coming in the NFL draft in just under a month.

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Bears signing former All-Pro S Kevin Byard to 2-year deal

According to CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson, the Bears are signing former All-Pro safety Kevin Byard.

The Chicago Bears are signing former All-Pro safety Kevin Byard to a 2-year deal, according to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, after visiting the team a day earlier. The deal is worth $15 million.

Byard is a nine-year veteran who burst onto the scene with the Tennessee Titans and became one of the league’s best safeties during the end of the 2010s and early 2020s.

Byard was drafted by the Titans in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft and exploded during his second season when he had eight interceptions, which led to him earning All-Pro honors. He continued to be one of the better safeties in the game, totaling 27 interceptions in eight seasons. Last year, Byard was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in hopes of boosting their injury-depleted secondary. He combined for just one interception and three pass breakups to go along with 122 total tackles in 2023.

Now, Byard joins the Bears and takes over for Eddie Jackson, who was released last month. He is set to play next to Jaquan Brisker, giving Chicago another veteran defensive back to round out their secondary.

Bears signing ex-Titans S Kevin Byard to 2-year deal

The Bears are reportedly signing former Titans safety Kevin Byard to a two-year deal.

Former Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard has reportedly found a new home with the Chicago Bears in free agency.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Byard is signing a two-year deal with the Bears that is worth a base of $15 million.

Byard was originally drafted by the Titans in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft and became one of the better players in the league at his position over seven-plus seasons in Tennessee.

But Byard struggled mightily in 2023, especially after being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, which led to his being released by Philly earlier this month.

The Middle Tennessee State product surrendered a completion rate of 74.6% and a passer rating of 102.1 over 16 games. The completion rate was the worst of his career and the passer rating was second-worst.

While he may not be what he once was, I do think Byard still has something left in the tank and can be an asset to an emerging Bears defense that will benefit from his veteran savvy and strong leadership.

And, Chicago is going to be getting a player who will have a massive chip on his shoulder after what was an ugly tenure in Philly.

The Titans will now see Byard this coming season, as Tennessee is scheduled to travel to Chicago for a game in 2024.

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Bears sign former Eagles safety Kevin Byard to a 2-year, $15 million deal

The hunt for compensatory picks has begin, and Philadelphia is up one after Kevin Byard agreed to a two-year, $15 million deal with the Chicago Bears.

The hunt for compensatory picks has begun, and Philadelphia is up one after Kevin Byard agreed to a two-year, $15 million deal with the Chicago Bears.

The Bears moved on from Eddie Jackson, and with new defensive coordinator Eric Washington wanting to play a specific style, the team hosted Byard on a two-day visit.

According to PFF, Byard was the 23rd highest-graded safety in the NFL and finished the year with career highs in tackles (122) and solo tackles (80) in 16 regular-season games.

Byard began the year with the Titans before being traded to the Eagles.

Despite playing only ten games for Philadelphia, Byard finished fourth in tackles, recording 75 after the move.

Philadelphia could have negotiated a restructured or reworked deal, but the $14 million cap hit was too high for a player who made no game-changing plays during his stint.

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Bears hosted former Eagles DB Kevin Byard on a visit ahead of NFL free agency

The Chicago Bears hosted Philadelphia Eagles free agent safety Kevin Byard on a visit

The Bears moved on from Eddie Jackson, and with new defensive coordinator Eric Washington wanting to play a certain style, the team is hosting Kevin Byard on a visit.

Byard was the 23rd highest graded safety in the NFL according to PFF, and finished the year with career highs in tackles (122) and solo tackles (80) in 16 regular-season games.

Byard began the year with the Titans before being traded to the Eagles.

Despite playing only ten games for Philadelphia, Byard finished fourth in tackles, recording 75 after the move.

Philadelphia could have negotiated a restructured or reworked deal, but the $14 million cap hit was too high for a player who made no game-changing plays during his stint.