Bears agree to deal with veteran safety Kevin Byard: source
Kevin Byard was a full-time starter for the Titans and Eagles last season.
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The Bears will sign veteran safety Kevin Byard to a two-year, $15 million deal, a source said. He likely will replace longtime starter Eddie Jackson, whom the team released this offseason.
Byard, 30, has been a starting safety for eight seasons and spent last season with the Titans and Eagles. He's a two-time All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection.
The Bears will be looking for a new starting safety going into next season to line up opposite Jaquan Brisker. Coach Matt Eberflus described Brisker as a "hammer" and said the team needed another safety with “athletic ability, range, great communication skills, ball skills.”
Byard seems to fit that description. He has 28 career interceptions and two defensive touchdowns.
The Titans drafted Byard in third round out of Middle Tennessee in 2016 and he was with them until last season. They traded him to the Eagles in October for a fifth-round pick, a sixth-rounder and safety Terrell Edmunds (the brother of Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds).