📢 TOP STORY: One Day-2 Prospect Is Forcing the Bears to Rethink Their Safety Future ⚡.DH

The Chicago Bears did almost everything right in 2025.

They won the NFC North. They ended a playoff drought that stretched back more than a decade. And for the first time in years, the franchise entered the offseason with legitimate Super Bowl expectations instead of abstract hope.

That success, however, comes with consequences.

As the Bears turn toward free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft, one quiet issue is beginning to surface—one that could force uncomfortable decisions sooner rather than later.

The safety position, long a strength of Chicago’s defense, is suddenly unstable.

Both of the team’s starting safeties—All-Pro Kevin Byard III and Jaquan Brisker—are set to hit unrestricted free agency.

Byard remains one of the league’s most respected veterans and will command real interest. Brisker, after proving in 2025 that his concussion concerns are behind him, has reestablished himself as a high-upside defender with physicality teams covet.

Keeping both would be ideal. Realistically, it may be impossible.

That’s why the Bears’ presence at the Senior Bowl mattered more than usual—and why one performance may have quietly changed their draft board.

TCU safety Bud Clark didn’t arrive in Mobile with first-round buzz. He didn’t dominate headlines. But according to Bleacher Report, he left a noticeable impression on scouts—including those from Chicago.

“He flew around the field,” the outlet noted, highlighting Clark’s man-coverage ability during one-on-one drills and his downhill aggression during team sessions.

Even an acrobatic interception—called back due to a hold—served as a reminder of his instincts and ball skills.

That word keeps coming up: instincts.

For a Bears defense built on discipline and trust, that matters. Dennis Allen doesn’t need freelancing stars on the back end. He needs players who diagnose quickly, communicate clearly, and erase mistakes before they become explosive plays.

Clark fits that profile.

At the Senior Bowl, he showed comfort in man coverage, willingness to attack the line of scrimmage, and a natural feel for spacing.

Those traits don’t guarantee success—but they travel. Especially for safeties asked to contribute early without being the focal point of a defense.

The timing also isn’t accidental.

Chicago’s roster is getting more expensive. Young stars are approaching second contracts. The window to contend is open, but it’s not cheap.

Drafting a Day 2 safety with size, athleticism, and momentum offers a rare thing: a cost-controlled solution at a premium defensive position.

Clark wouldn’t need to replace Byard’s leadership overnight or Brisker’s physical tone immediately. He’d simply need to be reliable—someone who lines up correctly, plays fast, and earns trust snap by snap.

That’s often how long-term starters are born.

Senior Bowl standouts don’t always translate into draft steals. But they do force teams to reevaluate assumptions. Clark entered the week as a mid-round name.

He left as someone “creating fans within the NFL scouting community,” according to Bleacher Report.

For the Bears, that matters more than buzz.

They’re no longer drafting for desperation. They’re drafting for continuity. For insurance. For the reality that winning teams must constantly prepare for the cost of success.

If Chicago does lose one—or both—of its starting safeties this offseason, the answer may not come from a splashy free-agent signing. It may come from a player who made the most of a single week in Mobile.

No guarantees. No hype machine.

Just a prospect whose rise aligns perfectly with Chicago’s next problem.

And sometimes, that’s exactly how the best draft fits reveal themselves.