The Seattle Seahawks need to find some replacements for players who left in free agency, and one of those was safety Coby Bryant. He was drafted as a cornerback, lost his starting spot after the team took Devon Witherspoon in 2023, and eventually found his way to a new starting spot deep in the defensive backfield. He was quite good.
Good enough to leave in free agency and sign with the Chicago Bears for three years and as much as $40 million. He earned his money, however, by playing the run well and forcing turnovers. But make no mistake, Bryant wasn't upset that Seattle didn't offer him what Chicago did. He was thankful for his time with the Seahawks.
He said so in a press conference this week ahead of the 2026 draft. When asked about Seattle, Bryant stated, "I’m beyond grateful for the years that I’ve spent in Seattle, but I’m extremely fortunate for the opportunity I’m getting here, and I’m looking forward to it for sure."
Former Seattle Seahawks safety Coby Bryant says all the right things after joining the Chicago Bears
A lot of that is player-speak, of course, but not all of it. Bryant had the opportunity in front of the Chicago media to not say kind things about a team that didn't offer him as much money to play for it as the Bears did, even though losing Bryant created a bit of a roster hole for the Seahawks.
Head coach Mike Macdonald's team does appear to have a built-in replacement for Bryant in Ty Okada. Okada was quite good in 2025, starting 11 games because of an injury to fellow safety Julian Love. He missed only 4.4 percent of his tackle attempts and had an interception.
What Okada hasn't yet done that Bryant did was enter a season as a presumed starter. That adds more pressure to the undrafted free agent out of Montana State in 2023. How he reacts to that is anyone's guess, including his own, because he's never been in that situation before.
Coby Bryant, though, appeared to welcome the added pressure. He was better as a starter than a backup, and played with the kind of proverbial chip on his shoulder that is often required to be great in the NFL. No one was going to disrespect the safety.
Moving forward, Bryant will try to translate his success with the Seattle Seahawks to the Chicago Bears. He was "grateful" for what he learned under Pete Carroll and Mike Macdonald, and he would be happy to use that against Seattle should his new team and old team meet in the playoffs.
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