Titans make Byard highest-paid safety

Landon Collins’ reign as the highest-paid safety in NFL history is over after barely four months. The Tennessee Titans on Wednesday announced that they’ve signed Kevin Byard to a multi-year contract extension. 

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Byard is now the highest-paid safety in the history of football, after the All-Pro signed a five-year, $70.5 million contract that contains $31 million in guarantees.

A third-round pick in 2016, Byard broke out in his second NFL season, making the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro first team while leading the league with eight interceptions. He followed up that campaign with another excellent season, notching four more picks to go along with 90 tackles and eight passes defensed in 2018. 

With just a year remaining on his rookie contract, the Titans made sure to take care of him before he had a chance to hit free agency. The contract will keep Byard in Tennessee through at least 2022 if he plays out the entire deal, taking him through his age-30 season. 

Byard will team once again with the re-signed Kenny Vaccaro on the back end of the defense, giving the Titans one of the better safety tandems in the league.

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Byard still took part in offseason minicamp despite having an expiring contract, but he expressed confidence throughout that a deal would get done.

“I have an agent to do this kind of stuff. I am focused on taking that leadership role to another level and helping the younger guys,” Byard said after practice in May. “I am not concerned about anything other than my brothers, my teammates and winning a Super Bowl.”

The Titans wanted Byard to take on more of a leadership role in his fourth season. Now they’re paying him to do that and more. Byard feels his work ethic along with his production on the field has earned him the right to be more of a vocal leader.

“A lot of young guys want to just come in and immediately change the culture,” he said. “That’s not always the way. The way you change the culture is you come in and keep your head down and work. The older guys see that and start to trust you. That’s when you can start speaking up.”

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