Bears made right call parting with fan favorite safeties with 1st-round and $40M additions
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Bears made right call parting with fan favorite safeties with 1st-round and $40M additions originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Chicago Bears didn't make as big a roster move as some fans might've hoped for, especially with the possibility of Maxx Crosby earlier this offseason seeming like a possibility.
But the Bears instead focused on swapping out their safety room, parting with fan favorites in Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker in favor of two new faces.
According to ESPN's Courtney Cronin, this safety room was the Bears' "Most improved position" from this past offseason.
With the addition of Dillon Thieneman in the 2026 NFL Draft's first-round and Coby Bryant in free agency, the two Bears safeties are the better duo than their pairing last year.
3 reasons why Bears' safety swap was a good idea
"The Bears lost Byard's league-leading seven interceptions," Cronin writes, "but they got younger, rangier and faster on the back end this offseason."
Chicago added Thieneman and Bryant this offseason, spending their No. 25 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and $40 million in free agency on these two DBs, respectively.
While Brisker and Byard were fan favorites, the Bears are now faster, rangier, and younger than they were with the duo, according to Cronin.
MORE: Coby Bryant has good odds to be a successful signing for the Bears
These two new safeties are fun pickups for a Bears defense led by Dennis Allen. Bryant was great for a Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl defense, and Thieneman was right next to Caleb Downs for the top safety in this year's draft class.
He was a steal at No. 25 overall, and as a young player under control for the next five seasons for cheap, he is a far-better piece to build around than the veterans in Byard and Brisker.
This safety swap might not have been the most popular, as they lost Byard and Brisker in the process. But, at the end of the day, the Bears got better for making this swap, and as Cronin notes, this was their "most improved position" this offseason.
