Safety Kevin Byard III, NFL's interceptions leader in 2025, reportedly signs 1-year deal with Patriots

Andy Backstrom Wed, March 11, 2026 at 8:36 PM UTC

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No defense recorded more turnovers last season than the Chicago Bears. Kevin Byard III played a big role in the havoc-wreaking Bears racking up a league-high 33 takeaways during the 2025 campaign.

Now the 32-year-old safety is reportedly headed east, where he'll take his ball-hawking skills to the New England Patriots on a one-year, $9 million deal, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

In 2025, Byard led the NFL in interceptions — a feat he also accomplished with the Tennessee Titans in 2017 — and finished as a first-team All-Pro for the third time in his career.

Byard picked off seven passes, accounting for 21.2% of the turnovers the Bears forced last season. He sniffed the career-high eight picks he logged with the Titans eight years earlier. At that time, he was a second-year player out of Middle Tennessee and he was playing for then-Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.

The two of them will be reunited in New England.

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Byard, a 2016 third-round pick, spent the first seven-plus seasons of his career in Tennessee before he was traded midseason in 2023 to the Philadelphia Eagles. His time with his hometown Eagles was short-lived, however.

Byard signed with the Bears ahead of the 2024 season, marking the beginning of his two-year run in Chicago.

This past season, he helped Chicago return to the playoffs for the first time in five years and log a winning record for the first time in seven years.

In addition to his seven interceptions, Byard also tallied 93 total tackles, including 61 solos and 4 TFLs. He also allowed just 24 receptions, 282 receiving yards and three touchdowns through the air, per Pro Football Focus.

Byard will join a Patriots team that was tied for 19th in the league with 19 takeaways in 2025 but forced eight turnovers in the playoffs en route to the Super Bowl.

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Source: “AOL Sports”