Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Examining the Bears’ decisions at the safety position

Episode Date: March 13, 2026

Leila Rahimi and Mark Grote examined the Bears’ decisions at the safety position this offseason.

Rahimi Harrison Grody, Midday's Tyndel 2. On Chicago Sports Radio, 1043, the score. On second down, play action fake. Rush coming, hurts, scrambles away to the right side, looking downfield, floats in and it is intercepted. Savie up over the top. Kevin Byard came in as he was trying to get it into A.J. Brown, and Byard makes a sprawling interception at the Chicago 49-yard line.

That's Byers' sixth of the year. that's the defense's 17th interception of the season. Man, Tyler Beaterbaugh, what a way to start by Friday with a little boosy-slash-glorilla. I love it. Another six butes. No, five beutes. It's a five scale, by the way. If you think I'm like giving you five out of ten, that's a five.

Another five for the Butte. Mark gives out bears. And beutes. And beutes. See, Tyler Beuterbaugh. You know you made it because you got your own Mark. I got my own scale. See, it took you a little while.

I'm not sure about that Nebraska hat you're wearing right now. That might take you down to a couple butes. They play the Big Ten tournament today. I'll put it inside out. The fighting Fred Hoybergs. I do like all the Hoybergness of it. It is, they are kind of fun to watch in their own Nebraska way. I swear I thought of the younger and more athletic bulls separately.

That was just an appropriate reference. But yes, the one thing they have in common is Fred Hoyberg. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, the score. And I think we can safely say, as I said, in the last segment. Biggest free agent signing that the Bears had this season. So far, the offseason has been the contract for Kobe Bryant. Three years, $40 million, $25 and change guaranteed. And he comes to the Bears from a Seattle defense. That was absolutely fantastic. We've talked about that as well. I think that's why he had fewer tackles, for example,

than Kevin Beyer did, because the defensive line and linebackers are making a lot of those stops in Seattle. You didn't need me to tell you that. On top of that, though, was us trying to figure out the biggest question, perhaps, of the offseason before Drew Dalman's retirement, which was whether or not Byrd, Bristker, or somebody else was going to end up on this bear safety crew. We got our answers. Kevin Byrd goes to the Patriots. Jaquan Bristker goes to Pittsburgh. And now Kobe Bryant is the guy. Mark, when you heard Ryan Poles talk, what was your takeaway from just how that,

all went down. And the news that, you know, for example, Byard and Brisker, Bristker was yesterday after our show. What did you think of the news that both those guys end up gone? Wild that Brisker went to Pittsburgh for $5.5 million. The Bears easily could have afforded to bring Brisker in. And maybe they thought the two players, Kobe Bryant and Jaquan Brisker were too similar. Maybe there were other reasons, which again, we will get, I do think that there were other, maybe possibly other reasons they didn't bring Brisker back and we'll do the deep dive investigation into that. But my overriding opinion of that is that the Bears chose Kobe Bryant over both of those guys. Chose Kobe Bryant to be the one that they were going to give the big money to.

The four years, excuse me, as you said, the three years and $40 million. The Bears were not willing to give that to Kevin Byard is the way I read it. I also read it as Jaquan Brisker was never coming back to the Chicago Bears. Like that was a non-starter, I think. I think they chose, like if one was going to come back, it was going to be Bired, but it was going to be on their terms. And when Ryan Poles is asked about Bired and he talks about Kobe Bryant, that tells me they made that decision.

Kevin Bired was the one guy that publicly you said you'd like to have back. And you said that you'd talk. Why didn't that come to fruition? And once you signed Kobe was a reunion kind of out the window? or was there a chance even the last year? Yeah, that's what makes this part of year difficult. You have certain plans. There's guys that you would like to have back

and kind of seeing how the landscape's going to, you know, set up and you do your research. When we watched Kobe's tape, he was a guy that got us excited because, again, he played our style of ball. He played fast. He played physical. Those are the things that DA is looking for that we're looking for. We thought there was leadership there. He's young.

And we had to kind of adapt to that. And we had an opportunity to bring a really good player in. And that's the decision that we made. He never mentions Kevin Byrd's name in all of that. I mean, the illusion is obvious. But the reason they didn't bring Kevin Byard back, I'm just going to talk about how good Kobe Bryant is. I think that that's GM 101, though.

Mac Brown always famously said, you talk about the players you have, not the ones you don't have. And I feel like that's good media strategy. But why then did he glow about DJ Moore and have the fun with it about his child and say, we'd love the player, we'd love DJ Moore as one of my favorite guys, and then he doesn't even mention Kevin Byard by name. A fair question. Maybe because it was a trade and it was a massive one and he knew he had to say something about the trade.

You know, the fact that that was a transaction. But it's a fair question. I feel like when it came to Wadding Kobe Bryant, that is part of it too is, what are the reports coming out of Seattle that they were mad that the Bears got to Kobe Bryant first? You know, that's something that we've heard. Now, how strong that speculation is, you know, that's a different story. But that was a key piece of the Seattle defense who was taken off the board for them.

Yeah, but it's, you know, as good as Kobe Bryant is and was for Seattle. It is not a premium position. And they do have many, many players that to eventually pay if they want to keep the band together and have sustained success in Seattle. I agree. I think safety is not as pricey as we know in the NFL, and it is one where you can replace players at an easier rate than others, say, defensive line edge rusher, for example.

So let's hear Kobe Bryant talk about why he chose the Bears. Kobe submitted other options. Why did you pick the Bears and what do you like about the whole situation coming here? I mean, honestly, just feeling wanted. You know, that's the feeling I had it. You know, God told me, you know, just choose this place. And that's what happened. Do you see this Bears team as an ascending team that has some of those traits?

Yeah, absolutely. Big reason why I chose to be here. Got the right guys, the right coaching staff. You know, just like I said, just taking it one day at a time and starting the OTAs. Okay, so feeling wanted stood out to me. Same. So he might, Seattle could say what they want about, oh, the Bears beat us to. They were not interested in.

bringing him back because he was expendable because he was a safety and they have another safety that's really good that they have to pay or have paid him in worry yeah they paid him in worry no I don't think so but they're so I mean you got to choose one right you got to choose like in those scenarios unfortunately that's the way it works in the NFL you can't afford oftentimes most times you can't afford to have two great players at the same position it's happened it happens but sometimes at a non-premium position especially you got to make your choice and Seattle did and the bears of the beneficiary well what's fun you also just described the Bears situation with Byrd.

Yeah, I guess. Well, everybody talks, Byrd's age, yes. Of course, I assume that factored in because I don't know how it doesn't. It does every other time we talk about free agents in the NFL. 33. Never missed a game, though. And Kobe Bryant is 26. But I think it's the same of what you just said.

Two premium players at the same position when you're talking about Even Worry and Brian. Yeah, and who would you choose? I would probably choose Eam and Worry as much as valuable as this. signing is, it's probably a minority. And why would you say that? Because he's better. Well, in age, right? Oh, age too. Sure. You know, that's part of it. Even though Brian is just

a precious 26. Also, you know, we always like to say on this show, he's just a baby talking about anybody under pretty much the age of 35. And there was an actual baby in the press conference. He's just a baby. That was originally for Mark's Cat Day. But what,

I will ask, whose baby was it in the availability? Everybody wants to know. I don't know. Because as it, see, I love, I am upset that I wasn't able to be there yesterday because I love that day. It's such a, it's such a celebration because you have wives that come, families come, children come, and that may have been what it was. You had the townspeople arrive. People come from the horizon in Lake Forest and they don't even recognize.

There are McCaskies often lined up in there all wearing their nifty McCasky suits. So it's always a very jubilant day. Free agent signing day is always a jubilant, wonderful, colorful day. And every once in a while you get it accented by a baby crying. And he is just a baby. Well, I mean, I think to the baby, they're probably thinking, well, everybody else is talking. Like, we're talking here. Yeah, right.

Sounds are happening. Sure. Conversation. Yeah. Do you know what that baby immediately sent me to? This Aaliyah song, this classic Aaliyah song. Are you that somebody? Yes.

That little, yeah, RIPD, that little baby sound in that song, I thought of it when I heard that baby in that press conference. A hundred percent I did. And all I guess, I guess the only thing we can say is Kobe Bryant is that somebody. And even more sad, if he's 26, that means he was born in 2000 or perhaps late 1999. And that song is older than he is. All right. The old guy in the room here, don't take that away from me ever. I am the old guy on this show.

The song that went through. I am the old guy. Damn it. That's my bit. What went through my head is when Kobe Bryant was saying, God told me, of course I thought of a song by corn got the life. God tell me. Okay.

Okay, a little prog rock. You know, I can go beyond grunge sometimes. So I can go to that. So there were songs going through everybody's heads during the Kobe Bryant. Thank you, Kobe Bryant. I blame you because there are always songs going through our husband. Well, you said that. Well, you know what?

You said I think in music, I think you kind of do as well. 19 million billion percent. Yeah. Lawrence does. Spiegel does. Tanny 100 percent. Yeah, wait, we all do. Hold on a second.

Maybe not Haw. Maybe not Ha. He-Ha. He's too practical for that. You know that when Ha and I do shows together, we call it Her Ha. Her ha. Or He-Ha. I love that.

That's the whole point. Country Ha. We could be behind a bail of hay, making jokes. Oh, yeah. And then you cut to something else. And then next is the Carol Burnett show. With the mop and whatnot. Yeah.

The shower cap on. I love David Hall. We do love David Haw. He's going to get a workout right now. He's doing the in-building workout. You might even be listening right now. Because he's a man of discipline and he usually probably is listening. I think we've also got to address what Kevin Byard had to say about going to New England.

Because it's not like he left the Bears for any old team. And he also has a major consideration. connection with Mike Rable. So we'll listen to Kevin Byard next. And then there's also something that I want to get to that Kevin Byard said previously, which is why I feel the way I feel about this. I understand GM's got to make a decision, but there were clues that led us in another direction. And even Kevin Byard knew that. So we'll listen to that next.