Player Signing Safety Kevin Byard signs 1 year deal

One-If-By-Sea · Mar 11, 2026

KCSVEN said:
Good player will be 33 when year starts but even with a minor drop off he's better than Hawkins.

The bold is correct.

Joey007 · Mar 11, 2026

n1997y said:
Yes, but may not be anything more than a one season rental.

Sets up perfectly to draft the long term solution in a good safety class. We have 3 picks between rounds 3 and 4. Would be a great spot to invest in the long term solution.

PatsFan2 · Mar 11, 2026

Username said:
Good signing

7 Ints sign me up.

Give Kraft A Hand · Mar 11, 2026

Decent signing. Another ex Titan. Familiar with the system.

TommyD4207 · Mar 11, 2026

PatsFan2 said:
7 Ints sign me up.

mayoclinic · Mar 11, 2026

mayoclinic said:
VJ Payne or Zakee Wheatley, please (unless we somehow land Yreudan Stukes day 2).

And then Jelani McDonald in 2027.

shmessy · Mar 11, 2026

patfanken said:
I assume you mean with US?

If it's with us, then depending on the contract he is a solid upgrade to our safety room even at his advanced years. It adds protection if Hawkins leaves and if he doesn't we have depth we didn't before and the flexibility to use more 3 safety looks that we didn't have last season. Kudos to the FO.

Edit: $9MM seems about right. Nice pick up

He's also a GREAT guy for Woodson to learn from. For that reason, this could be one of those 1 + 1 = 3 situations.

That being said, dude grew up from his young days of..........

.

upstater1 · Mar 11, 2026

Joey007 said:
Sets up perfectly to draft the long term solution in a good safety class. We have 3 picks between rounds 3 and 4. Would be a great spot to invest in the Lin term solution.

100%. We can find a safety this year even in the 4th or 5th round.

upstater1 · Mar 11, 2026

I don't think any fan here is happier than I am about this. I am the most negative about Hawkins play and I don't take pride in saying so. Many of the burns and catches we blamed on Carlton Davis and Gonzo were actually Hawkins taking bad angles or being out of position. For instance, go back and look at the Broncos early bomb that lead to their opening TD. Was not Gonzo's fault. All on Hawkins. This happened way too many times.

PATSYLICIOUS · Mar 11, 2026

So that one twitter hack that posted byard to the pats a year ago ended up being right after all !

RobertWeathers · Mar 11, 2026

Love it.

I also liked Hawkins.

Woodson had zero picks last but had a more than solid rookie year. Maybe Byard can teach him a few things about ball-hawking.

n1997y · Mar 11, 2026

upstater1 said:
100%. We can find a safety this year even in the 4th or 5th round.

Edge in the 1st
WR in the 2nd
OL or ILB next?
Then S …

RobertWeathers · Mar 11, 2026

upstater1 said:
I don't think any fan here is happier than I am about this. I am the most negative about Hawkins play and I don't take pride in saying so. Many of the burns and catches we blamed on Carlton Davis and Gonzo were actually Hawkins taking bad angles or being out of position. For instance, go back and look at the Broncos early bomb that lead to their opening TD. Was not Gonzo's fault. All on Hawkins. This happened way too many times.

Agree. Hawkins was slighty above average but made his share of mistakes out there...

Byard is a clear upgrade.

scott99 · Mar 11, 2026

The good: He was an All-Pro and a Pro Bowler in 2025, so he’s still a good player.

The bad: He turns 33 in August.

The Gr8est · Mar 11, 2026

I have been hearing good things about this year’s safeties in the draft.

Draft Byard’s replacement and season him for a year.

patfanken said:
I assume you mean with US?

If it's with us, then depending on the contract he is a solid upgrade to our safety room even at his advanced years. It adds protection if Hawkins leaves and if he doesn't we have depth we didn't before and the flexibility to use more 3 safety looks that we didn't have last season. Kudos to the FO.

Edit: $9MM seems about right. Nice pick up

Hammer of Thor · Mar 11, 2026

RobertWeathers said:
Love it.

I also liked Hawkins.

Woodson had zero picks last but had a more than solid rookie year. Maybe Byard can teach him a few things about ball-hawking.

Ah, but Woodson saved his best for last — he had a pick against the Texans. He had a really good postseason on the whole.

stelfans · Mar 11, 2026

That’s a nice 1 year stop gap while we draft someone to rotate with board and Woodson and learns the ropes.

DaBruinz · Mar 11, 2026

WTF. This doesn't meet the better, cheaper younger mantra.

TommyD4207 · Mar 11, 2026

DaBruinz said:
WTF. This doesn't meet the better, cheaper younger mantra.

Meets the first for sure, possibly the 2nd one too.

Zuma · Mar 11, 2026

DaBruinz said:
WTF. This doesn't meet the better, cheaper younger mantra.

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