The Chicago Bears have a familiar face coming back to town on Thursday night when the team host the New England Patriots in veteran safety Kevin Byard III.

Byard spent the previous two seasons in Chicago serving as a two-time team captain and was one of the most well respected leaders that helped facilitate the team’s turnaround. This offseason, the Bears parted ways with Byard, prompting him to reunite with Mike Vrabel on a one-year deal with the Patriots.

Moving on from Byard was a tough decision for Chicago. Not only was he one of the best leaders in the building, he was also one of the team’s best players over the last two seasons after earning first-team All Pro honors in 2025. But, the Bears made the decision to pursue other options at the position and now will have to face off against Byard.

“I love Kevin Byard III and what he brings to the table,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said. “You can tell he really fits their defense well in terms of the communication and what they’re asking them to do. But all of those guys, they’re fundamentally sound. They tackle really well. They shed blocks really well. And then schematically, they try to take away what you do best. And that’s the challenge.”

Caleb Williams is well aware of the challenge Kevin Byard III can bring in coverage

Even at age 32, Byard was playing as one of the league’s top coverage defenders last season with the Bears. He led the entire NFL with seven interceptions and was a very cerebral player constantly looking to disguise coverages and bait opposing quarterbacks into bad decisions.

This week, Byard’s goal is trying to get the better of the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week in Bears’ quarterback Caleb Williams.

That’ll be a difficult task considering Williams’ 1.1 interception percentage is the best in the NFL since he entered the league among quarterbacks with 1,000+ attempts. In fact, on Sunday, Williams joined Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for 50 touchdowns with less than 15 career interceptions. Oh, and Williams also currently leads the NFL in completion percentage.

“I love his mentality, I’m a huge fan of him, honestly,” Byard said of Williams. “I just think the care, his willingness to go out there and fight every day with his team. So I’m excited to play against him and hopefully our defense can have a better day.”

While Byard is aware of the challenge Williams can be throwing the football, Williams is also aware of the threat Byard can be roaming deep down the field. You have to remember, these two spent two years going up against each other every day in practice.

“Being able to go versus him and practice for two years; I mean he’s a super savvy vet,” Williams said of Byard. “I know he’s getting up there in age, but he’s still fast. I’ve seen him work, he studies film, he still moves extremely well and he knows the route concepts really well. Excited to go versus him, it’s going to be a great challenge for us.”

Caleb Williams isn’t the only concern that Kevin Byard III is preparing the Patriots for when facing the Bears

While Williams is the superstar name in Chicago, he’s not the focal point of this offense. Something Byard is trying to make clear to his teammates and coaches going into this game.

“Ben Johnson wants to run the ball. As much as people talk about his pass game, and Caleb, and all this other stuff, his number one philosophy is run the football,” Byard explained. “Training camp last year, and I’m pretty sure training camp this year, we had live practices because he wants to be the most physical team in the league.”

Through six games, the Bears lead the NFL with 216 attempts in the run game and also lead the league with 160.7 rushing yards per game. It’s the engine of this offense and how Ben Johnson designs it is the reason why it’s so effective almost every single week.

“Out of any personnel group they dress up the run. A lot of eye poison to get guys out of position. They trust their running backs,” Byard said. “…They’re going to run behind Darnell Wright, that’s who they believe in.”

One thing to watch in this game is the Bears potentially being without right guard Jonah Jackson, who is another reason why the Bears are so dangerous when running to the right. However, the Bears are confident in Luke Newman’s ability to step up into that role.

Byard’s main concern as the leader for this defense is making sure the Patriots get multiple hats to the football. Entering this game, the Patriots have been pretty decent at avoiding yards after contact and missed tackles. That’ll be a key on Thursday to prevent the Bears from hitting explosives on the ground.

“They’re going to run the ball until you stop them. I guarantee you, that’s what Ben Johnson’s saying in his meeting today, yesterday, whatever it may be,” Byard said. “This is going to be one of those ‘drop the gloves’ games in hockey. Let’s drop the gloves, let’s go out there and fight.”