Kevin Byard III
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Kevin Byard III is a perfect culture fit for the Patriots.
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has instilled his vision throughout his brief tenure at the helm in Foxborough.
He retooled the roster last year when he took the job, flipping the team’s record from 4-13 to 14-3 with a Super Bowl appearance. Now, he’s simply finding more players who fit the culture he’s building in New England.
Recently signed safety Kevin Byard III fits that culture perfectly, and Vrabel is quite familiar with him from their time with the Tennessee Titans between 2018 and 2023. Vrabel saw the time cut short because the Titans traded Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023, and Byard then landed with the Chicago Bears in 2024.
“I want to thank Kevin for what he means to me personally and to this team,” Vrabel expressed in 2023, via ESPN Titans reporter Turron Davenport. “When I arrived, he helped carry a new message into the locker room and establish the mindset and work ethic we were trying to instill throughout the team.”
“An intelligent and athletic player, he has led the secondary and helped us win a lot of games. Kevin and Clarke and the kids mean a great deal to me, and I wish them success in all that is in front of them,” Vrabel concluded.
Vrabel now has the ball-hawking safety in his secondary again, which will be a boost for the Patriots this fall.
Patriots Getting Good Value For Kevin Byard III
Kevin Byard III
GettyKevin Byard III is a ball-hawking threat.
New England is signing Byard for a one-year, $9 million contract, and he’s the kind of player, where the Patriots will get the most for their money.
Byard has been extremely durable throughout his career, as he has never played fewer than 16 games in a season. That includes 2023, when he was traded from the Titans after six games to the Eagles, and he played another 10 games in Philly.
Byard also has plenty of playoff experience, mostly with Vrabel’s Titans teams. That included when Vrabel coached the Titans to a Wild Card win over the Patriots in January 2020.
In six playoff appearances and 10 games played, Byard has 59 tackles, two pass deflections, and one interception in his postseason career. His longest playoff run came in the 2019 season when the Titans reached the AFC Championship Game but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Last season, Byard helped the Bears reach the playoffs, and he tallied 10 tackles between both playoff games in Chicago. Overall, Byard helped Chicago rise from being an NFC North cellar dweller to division champions in one year.
Kevin Byard III is a Longtime Interception Threat
A Philadelphia native, Byard became a prep star at Martin Luther King Jr. High, followed by a collegiate career at Middle Tennessee from 2011 to 2015.
Byard tallied 19 interceptions, 15 pass deflections, three forced fumbles, 318 tackles, and one fumble recovery for the Blue Raiders in four seasons of play. The Titans selected him with a third-round draft pick in 2016.
Thus far, Byard has made three Pro Bowls, and he made first-team All-Pro three times, including the 2025 season. He has led the league in interceptions twice in 2017 and 2025.
Overall, Byard has 36 interceptions, two defensive touchdowns, 81 pass deflections, six fumble recoveries, four forced fumbles, six sacks, and 972 tackles in his career.