The coolest thing Kevin Byard has learned since becoming an Eagle
The coolest thing Kevin Byard has learned since becoming an Eagle originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
In the short time Kevin Byard has been back in Philadelphia, the new Eagles safety has been learning the playbook, about his teammates and the facility. He also learned a cool nugget from an Eagles PR staffer on Wednesday.
The locker stall, where his No. 31 jersey now hangs, at the NovaCare Complex?
It once belonged to Brian Dawkins.
For a kid from Philly, who has grown up into one of the best safeties in the NFL and was just traded to the Eagles, that’s pretty cool. Byard on Wednesday said Dakwins had a “huge influence” on him as a young football player.
“I’ve said this multiple times: Brian Dawkins was one of the top safeties I looked up to growing up,” Byard said. “Him, Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu. Big influence on me. When I first started playing safety in high school, one of the first things I did was go on YouTube and look at this Weapon-X video. It was like a hype video. … Every single game I played, I looked at that. Obviously, admire his intensity and the way he played the game.”
Byard, 30, was traded to the Eagles this week for a 5th-round pick, 6th-round pick and safety Terrell Edmunds. For the Eagles, it was a chance to shore up one of the weaker positions on their roster.
For Byard, this is a chance to join a 6-1 team midstream and to come home to the city where he spent his formative years.
“I enjoyed growing up in this city and it feels like home,” Byard said.
Byard grew up on 52nd Street in West Philadelphia but moved to Atlanta when he was 14. He never got the chance to go to high school in Philly but he always felt his roots in the city. What he’s really excited about is that this trip home is for a happy occasion.
Byard said the most recent times he’s been back to the city were when the Titans’ lost to the Eagles last season and when he returned last year to bury his mother. The two return trips before that were when his paternal grandmother and maternal grandmother died.
This time, it’s a happy homecoming.
“It feels good to be coming to Philly on a good note,” Byard said. “But obviously my entire family still lives here. My siblings are in Atlanta but the rest of my family, uncles, aunts, are all up here. Everybody is super excited.”
Byard had nothing but kind things to say about the Tennessee Titans and the City of Nashville, which he still calls home. Byard spend the first 7 1/2 years of his career with the Titans, who drafted him in the third round out of Middle Tennessee in 2016.
What will it be like being on a different NFL team?
“I don’t know. We’re about to find out,” Byard said. “It’s exciting for me. It’s been an adjustment. It’s been a crazy, what, 48 hours. The travel and all that stuff and joining a new team in the middle of the year. But I’m excited. God works in mysterious ways so I’m just trusting him right now.”
When Byard woke up on Monday morning, he was a veteran on a 2-4 Titans team that had lost two in a row and three of their last four heading into a Week 7 bye week.
When he woke up on Tuesday? He was a key cog for a 6-1 Eagles team that has serious aspirations to get back to the Super Bowl.
“I mean, it’s great,” Byard said. “This team has a winning culture, great culture here. I’m just looking to add on to that. It definitely feels good to wake up 6-1 for sure.”
As of Wednesday, Byard wasn’t really sure about how he’ll fit in to the Eagles’ defense or his role in Sean Desai’s system. But the Eagles clearly value versatility and Byard has shown that throughout his career.
He’s also been incredibly durable. Byard hasn’t missed a game in his career.
He’s been a ballhawk too. He has 27 interceptions since the start of the 2017 season, which ranks second in the NFL.
And, by all accounts, he’s going to be a good fit in the Eagles’ locker room.
“Obviously as a player, I have a lot of respect there,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “Then, I also know some people in the building at Tennessee, and they couldn't say more good things about him. Very high praise as a player, very high praise as a person, very high praise as a leader.”
With the Eagles, Byard will team up with fellow Middle Tennessee State product Reed Blankenship as a safety duo and will form a talented veteran secondary with Darius Slay, James Bradberry and eventually Bradley Roby, when he returns from injury.
Byard will get a chance to chase a championship in the city he grew up in and where his first football memories began.
“I remember vividly being younger, obviously watching the Eagles lose the Super Bowl a while back at my aunt’s house,” Byard said, “and everybody storming the streets pissed off and super upset.”
Most of Byard’s memories in Philly are about his big family. His mom was one of seven kids. His paternal grandmother had around 70 grandchildren he said.
His family members from Philly are all Eagles fans.
And they’ve all been sending him messages since hearing the news earlier this week.
“I haven’t really been able to get back to all the text messages and all the calls and stuff like that,” Byard said. “I’m just trying to learn this playbook right now. So eventually, I’ll get back to everybody else.”
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