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Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show

Examining the Bears’ decisions at the safety position

13 Mar 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What decisions did the Bears make regarding the safety position this offseason?

1.718 - 28.647 Leila Rahimi

Rahimi Harrison-Grody. Middays, 10 till 2. On Chicago Sports Radio, 104.3 The Score. On second down. Play action fake. Rush coming. Hurts scrambles away to the right side. Looking downfield. Floats it and it is intercepted. Savy 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.

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29.207 - 35.455 Leila Rahimi

That's Byard's sixth of the year. That's the defense's 17th interception of the season.

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36.987 - 44.361 Mark Grote

Man, Tyler Buterbaugh, what a way to start my Friday with a little Boosie slash Glorilla. I love it.

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44.501 - 52.937 Leila Rahimi

Another six Butes. No, five Butes. It's a five scale, by the way, if you think I'm giving you five out of ten. That's a five. Another five for the Bute.

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52.917 - 54.179 Mark Grote

Mark gives out bears.

54.4 - 54.76 Leila Rahimi

And buttes.

55.041 - 56.763 Mark Grote

And buttes for Tyler Buterbaugh.

56.784 - 60.43 Unknown

Tyler Buterbaugh, you know you made it because you got your own Mark Groves scale. I got my own scale.

60.85 - 69.164 Leila Rahimi

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 buttes. They played the Big Ten tournament today. I'll put it inside out.

Chapter 2: What impact does Kobe Bryant's signing have on the Bears' defense?

287.834 - 298.249 Mark Grote

I think that that's GM 101, though. Mack 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.

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298.229 - 310.029 Leila Rahimi

But why then did he glow about DJ Moore and have the fun with it about his child and say, we love the player, we love DJ Moore, he's one of my favorite guys, and then he doesn't even mention Kevin Bayard by name?

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310.049 - 331.124 Mark Grote

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 wanting 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.

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331.765 - 342.563 Mark Grote

That's something that we've heard. Now, how strong that speculation is, that's a different story. But that was a key piece of the Seattle defense who was taken off the board for them.

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342.543 - 356.64 Leila Rahimi

Yeah, but it's as good as Kobe Bryant is and was for Seattle. It is not a premium position, and they do have many, many players to eventually pay if they want to keep the band together and have sustained success in Seattle.

356.801 - 374.049 Mark Grote

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.

374.069 - 376.956 Unknown

Kobe, so you had other options. Why did you pick the Bears?

376.996 - 389.481 Kobe Bryant

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.

389.641 - 393.929 Unknown

Do you see this Bears team as an ascending team that has some of those traits?

Chapter 3: Why did the Bears choose Kobe Bryant over Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker?

491.427 - 495.334 Mark Grote

And there was an actual baby in the press conference.

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495.354 - 497.037 Leila Rahimi

He's just a baby.

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497.017 - 503.505 Mark Grote

That was originally for Mark's cat, Dave. I will ask, whose baby was it in the availability?

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503.525 - 517.523 Leila Rahimi

Everybody wants to know. I don't know. See, I love, I am upset that I wasn't able to be there yesterday because I love that day. It's such a celebration because you have wives that come, families come.

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517.503 - 543.207 Leila Rahimi

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 mccaskey's often lined up in there all wearing their nifty mccaskey 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

543.187 - 544.769 Leila Rahimi

They're just a baby.

544.849 - 553.238 Mark Grote

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.

553.658 - 583.68 Unknown

Yeah. Do you know what that baby immediately sent me to? This Aaliyah song, this classic Aaliyah song. Are you that somebody? Yes. If I let you go, you can turn my life, I'll turn my love off. Are you responsible? That little baby sound in that song, I thought of it when I heard that baby in that press conference.

583.7 - 599.839 Mark Grote

100% I did. And 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.

Chapter 4: What were Ryan Poles' comments about the safety position decisions?

671.18 - 672.041 Leila Rahimi

I love David Hall.

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673.043 - 674.265 Mark Grote

We do love David Hall.

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674.285 - 678.25 Leila Rahimi

He's going to get a workout right now. He's doing the in-building workout. You might even be listening right now.

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678.27 - 696.911 Mark Grote

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 connection with Mike Rabel. So we'll listen to Kevin Bayard next.

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697.512 - 713.07 Mark Grote

And then there's also something that I want to get to that Kevin Bayard 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 Bayard knew that. So we'll listen to that next.

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