5 things to know about Chicago Bears new signing Byron Pringle

1. Byron Pringle will play special teams for Chicago Bears

Byron Pringle was a UDFA who turned into a starter. That does not happen overnight. Things he had to do to earn his role came from blocking, but also special teams. Over the past three seasons, Pringle has been an integral part of the special team’s units.

He has played four of the six units, both kick and punt return as well kick and punt coverage. It is worth noting that his usage had started to decline, mainly because offensive playing time was coming into focus more.

Still, in 2019 he played 301 special teams snaps, and in 2020 he played 207 snaps. Last season it was down to 155 snaps, and he often was just on kick and punt return.

He did not return punts, but he did return kicks for the Kansas City Chiefs. In 2019 he had just two returns, but that shot up to 15 in 2020 and then 29 returns last season. By the end of his run in Kansas City, most of his special teams’ work came as a return man.

It will be interesting to see if they chose Byron Pringle, or Darrynton Evans, who was signed off of waivers to be their next return man.

Either way, you can see how Pringle was able to earn his keep. He started on special teams, showed he was a willing blocker, and then started making the dirty plays by sitting in zone for the cheap yards. That is what he will bring to the Chicago Bears.