The Chicago Bears are expected to reimagine their roster during the 2025 offseason under new head coach Ben Johnson and his crew of assistants, and that could spell trouble for returning veterans such as safety Kevin Byard III.
With the sixth-most cap space in the NFL, the Bears will have the resources to make a few aggressive signings in 2025 free agency to address areas of need.
At the same time, Johnson’s new guard might also look to replace some of their inherited starters with new players who better fit their vision of the future.
And with money to be saved cutting Byard — $7 million, to be exact — an investment in the free safety position could be on the horizon.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox recently tried his hand at predicting where the top talent at every position will land during 2025 free agency and boldly connected the dots between the Bears and Miami Dolphins star Jevon Holland.
Holland is one of the headliners of the 2025 free-agent class and is the top-rated safety on Bleacher Report’s and Pro Football Focus’ rankings after an impressive start to his NFL career over the past four seasons with the Dolphins.
Though he struggled with the Dolphins in 2024, Holland has proven an asset in both pass coverage and against the run with more than 300 total tackles and five interceptions and forced fumbles each since entering the league in 2021.
“While Holland would be far more expensive than Byard, he’s much younger and should be a better fit for Chicago’s long-term plans,” Knox wrote. “He should also be financially obtainable, as the Bears have [$62.9] million in projected cap space.”
Holland could make sense for the Bears if new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has something different in mind at free safety than what Byard offers.
Then again, Byard shined brighter than most Bears defenders during the 2024 season. He finished with a team-high 130 tackles along with one interception, seven pass deflections, two sacks and five tackles for loss; though, he also missed 10 tackles and finished with a low-end PFF coverage grade (60.5).
Byard has one more season left on the two-year, $15 million contract he signed with the Bears last offseason, but the Bears could save $7 million of his $8.5 million cap hit for the 2025 season if they made him a cap casualty.
Releasing Byard would be unexpected, but it would give the Bears more money to lock down a longer-term fit such as Holland for the position.