Coming off one of the best seasons a safety has had in the last decade, Kevin Byard was a young player fighting for a little recognition when he engaged one of the NFL’s legendary defensive backs.
Byard was named All-Pro in his second year with the Tennessee Titans in 2017 after having eight interceptions. The following offseason, Tyrann Mathieu signed with the Houston Texans, and Deion Sanders, then a part-time analyst for NFL Network, declared Honey Badger the best safety in the league.
Byard took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and wrote:
How do you make this statement and not include the two first team AP All Pro safeties @DeionSanders #INeedAnswers
To his surprise, Sanders clapped back.
You’re looking at who writers tell u who’s the best I know who players and former players feel is the best. I rest my case. You continue to be a fan and i will continue being the man. #Truth
A fan.
Byard screen-grabbed Sanders’ reply and, for a couple of years, it served as the screen lock on his phone. Imagine the number of times daily he saw those motivational words. A little more than a year after the exchange, the Titans made Byard the NFL’s highest-paid safety.
Now, Sanders knows the surname and the player. Byard’s half-brother, Tawfiq, leads the Colorado Buffaloes in tackles in his first season in Boulder after transferring from South Florida. Byard beamed with pride recounting how a recently released video from a team meeting showed Sanders praising Tawfiq.
“I let that go a long time ago,” said Byard, who clarified he’s still yet to chat with Sanders. “He’s a Hall of Fame player. Just looking back at it now, I was just a young player out there trying to get my respect around the league, and me and Deion just happened to get into it. It’s all love, for sure.”
Byard enters Week 8 tied with Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd for the league lead with four interceptions, an integral part of the takeaway train the Chicago Bears have been riding during their four-game winning streak.
While many veterans are clearly fading in their 10th season, the 32-year-old Byard looks like he has rediscovered his prime under defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.
“Normally you think those guys start to lose a step at some point,” coach Ben Johnson said. “But that has not been the case. He’s a guy that, over the course of his career, has played a really high level. And I think that with the experience he has, your awareness level goes up and the game slows down.
“He’s able to understand route concepts and when to break and where to break. He does a great job catching the ball when it comes his way as well and capitalizing on those opportunities also. He just continues to get better the more reps he gets.”
To say this season has been invigorating for Byard probably would be an understatement. He was a key part of the Titans’ success under Mike Vrabel, helping that team reach the playoffs three times in a four-year span. He was there as things began to unravel before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in the middle of the 2023 season. The Eagles were a mess on defense in the second half, and Byard was released in the offseason before signing a two-year, $15 million contract with the Bears. Then he endured a 10-game losing streak and saw coaches fired in-season at Halas Hall.
The opportunity with the Bears was a chance to start fresh in many ways. He was named All-Pro in 2021, but then his mother, Artina Stanley, died in 2022. And in 2023, two weeks before the trade, his wife, Clarke, gave birth to their son, Amari, at 26 weeks. He’s doing well now but spent nearly his first 5 months in the hospital.
“I really wasn’t in a place emotionally or mentally to be able to, and this isn’t making excuses, but to be able to go out and play with the freeness, basically be myself,” Byard said of how personal struggles weighed on him. “When I signed here last year, that was kind of a reset, and I had a breath of fresh air coming here to Chicago.
“Obviously we didn’t have the success on the field, but at the end of the day, my down years, whether it was the year I got traded to Philly or even last year, I only had one interception, I still ended up with (a team-high) 130 tackles. People who know me know I am a humble guy. But even those down years, they would be career years for some other players. The belief I have had in myself has always been there.”
With a concussion sidelining Jaquan Brisker for most of 2024, Byard wound up spending more time in the box, which took away opportunities to make the kind of plays on the back end that have defined his career. His 33 interceptions are the most by a player since 2016, when he entered the league, and he likely would have one more if cornerback Nahshon Wright hadn’t collided with him in midair during Sunday’s 26-14 win over the New Orleans Saints. Both of the interceptions in the Week 4 win in Las Vegas came when Byard baited veteran Geno Smith into throws.
“I am very thankful for Dennis Allen and his defense and his scheme allowing me to get back to the things I have always been able to do well which is to roam that middle of the field, put me in the middle of the action,” he said “It’s been rejuvenating for me personally.”
Safeties coach Matt Giordano said one of the things he most appreciates about Byard is how he asks questions in the meeting room, ones he might not necessarily need but the group requires to be on the same page.
“What do we do if this happens?” safety Elijah Hicks said. “Kevin has seen so much ball that when we put something new in, he can see something that may give the coverage some issues.”
The Bears might have viewed Byard as a bridge player when they signed him. If he continues playing well, it’s worth wondering if general manager Ryan Poles would consider bringing him back. Byard has yet to miss a game in his career so he’s been remarkably durable and it doesn’t appear age has caught up to him.
“He exemplifies all of it, which means we have toughness, we have physicality, we have poise, everything that we’re looking for in the team, he is as a player,” Johnson said. “And I think the best thing is he’s got the respect of his teammates. Those guys, they voted him captain for a reason. They acknowledge the high level with which he has not only played the game in the past but he’s currently playing the game now.
“When he talks, they listen. And he has a clear vision of what good football looks like. He wants that here in Chicago. When things aren’t right, he’s not afraid to voice his opinion and make sure that we get back on the right track. He challenges his teammates. And yet he’s still uplifting and he supports them as well. I could go on and on and on about that particular player. I think we got a number of guys like that. But he’s at the top of the list on this team of guys that we want to exemplify.”
That’s something the Bears can contemplate down the road for a position that will be in flux. Every safety on the roster is in a contract year. For now, Byard keeps a healthy chip on his shoulder, one he has used to propel his career from being a two-star recruit who landed at Middle Tennessee State after Kentucky pulled an offer.
He set records at MTSU and was a standout at the Senior Bowl but inexplicably was shut out of a combine invite. That didn’t dissuade the Titans from choosing him with the first pick of the third round in 2016. Teammates have always naturally gravitated to him, but he’s the furthest thing from a politician in the locker room.
Now that he’s opening eyes for a team on the upswing, Byard’s gaining plaudits again. He’s in a good headspace and, like he said, back to being himself.
“I had a lot of years in Tennessee where I felt I was deserving of a Pro Bowl or maybe an All-Pro nod but it didn’t happen,” Byard said. “I reached a point in my career where I don’t play this game for the admiration. Everybody wants to have those types of awards, which are cool.
“But I have always known what type of player I am and the ability I have. If somebody wants to give me a Pro Bowl or an All-Pro (vote), that’s great. But at the end of the day I know what I can do and I know what I am as a man and as a player.”
Sanders learned who he is too — much more than just a fan.
Scouting report
Kyle Hamilton, Ravens safety
Information for this report was obtained from NFL scouts.
Hamilton, 6-foot-4, 218 pounds, is in his fourth season in the league after the Ravens chose him with the 14th pick in 2022 out of Notre Dame. In August, they made Hamilton the league’s highest-paid safety with a four-year, $100.4 million extension.
Expected to return from a groin injury that kept him out of the last game, Hamilton is a chess piece on the back end of the defense, playing safety, nickel cornerback and big nickel in a variety of packages. A two-time Pro Bowl selection, he not only makes plays in the secondary, he’s also impactful behind the line of scrimmage with seven sacks and 19 tackles for a loss in his career.
“There are not many guys who can play backward at 6-foot-4,” the scout said. “It’s very hard to do and that’s why you see a lot of players with his frame and tools become linebackers or add weight to them and they become edge rushers because they are naturally tight-hipped and it’s hard for them to open and turn and match speed down the field. Hamilton can do all of that. That’s why he is one of the rare players in the league. He’s got a multidimensional skill set because he can play from depth, match and carry versus the slot and blitz, tackle and play the football. If you talk about baseball, they’re looking for five-tool players. Hamilton is one of those guys in the NFL.
“When he hasn’t been available, it completely changes what they can do because he’s the ultimate matchup piece for the Ravens. Really good player who can change a game.”