The Chicago Bears have some clear priorities this offseason. They know they need to revamp their defense, as they had to rely on late-game heroics and interceptions far too often to get the job done last season.
Notably, that's particularly true at the safety position. The Bears have Kevin Byard III, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Jaquan Brisker all hitting free agency, and the latest Los Angeles Rams move may have hurt the Bears' chances of keeping them.
As reported by NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo, Sean McVay's team has given veteran star Kam Curl a three-year contract extension worth $36 million. Not only does that take one option off the table for the Bears, but it also makes their own free agents more valuable in the open market.
The Bears May Face Steep Competition for Kevin Byard III
Bears GM Ryan Poles has been open about his desire to keep Kevin Byard III in town for a little longer. Byard led the league in interceptions (7) and was a true workhorse for Dennis Allen's defense, logging 1,070 total snaps, the tenth-most among all safeties.
Pro Football Focus gave him a 74.2 overall grade, the 15th-highest in the league, and while he was subpar as a pass rusher (43.9, ranking 93rd out of 98) and only had one total pressure, he was a huge factor against the run, logging 17 stops on 434 run-defense snaps.
While not the youngest player out there at 32, Byard proved to be instrumental in Chicago last season. That said, recency bias can work wonders for a player's market value, which is why Spotrac projects him at a whopping $7.8 million a year. The Bears have said all the right things about wanting to keep him in town, but if another team is desperate enough to go over that number now that the pool of options has shrunk even further, Chicago may not be able to keep him around.
Gardner-Johnson was always expected to be a one-year rental, and Brisker isn't as valuable as Byard. Even so, losing all three might be a bit of a catastrophe for the Bears. They're projected to take a cornerback or a pass rusher with their first-round selection, but that situation could force their hand to pivot.
As things stand now, the Bears only have $8.1 million in available cap space, per Over The Cap. And while they will make more moves like the DJ Moore trade to free more money, they might not be able to make Byard the Godfather-like offer it might take to keep him in the Windy City.