3 Offseason Moves That Will Backfire on the Bears

2. Choosing Kevin Byard over the field at the safety position

The safety position in this year's free agency crop was arguably the deepest you'll ever see at an individual position. Did the Chicago Bears get it right by cutting Eddie Jackson and moving forward with another older player like Kevin Byard?

Time will tell, but this is a move that could ultimately backfire on Chicago.

Byard was traded last year by the Titans to the Eagles, and unfortunately wasn't able to single-handedly resurrect a very dead Eagles pass defense. But Byard is still a good player. He had 122 total tackles and an interception last year in his time with both the Titans and Eagles, but wasn't part of the reason the Bears cut ties with Eddie Jackson to get younger at the position?

There were a plethora of young safeties available in free agency this year. Byard is on the other side of 30 at this point, and while he only signed a two-year deal with Chicago, you can't help but wonder if the Bears missed out on guys like Xavier McKinney (who signed in Green Bay), Julian Blackmon, Jordan Whitehead, and others.

This is a move that could end up backfiring on Ryan Poles if Byard isn't any good, and two teams have let him go in less than a year already.