Since safety Coby Bryant signed a free-agent contract with the Bears six weeks ago, he's heard all about what Chicago has to offer, from its food scene to its diehard sports fans and everything in between.

Bryant had previously spent only a few hours in his new city back on March 12 when he visited Halas Hall for the first time to officially ink his three-year contract and meet some of his new coaches and teammates. So when he returned to Chicago Sunday night ahead of the first day of the Bears' offseason program, he felt a childlike giddiness.

"I couldn't sleep last night," Bryant told reporters Monday. "I felt like a kid going to preschool again, honestly. I'm excited.

"Words can't even describe it."

The Bears are equally as excited for Bryant to be at Halas Hall for spring workouts.General manager Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson spoke highly of the veteran safety at the NFL owners meetings in March, identifying him, alongside defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, as a "trained killer."

"There's speed, there's a level of aggression, there's mental toughness," Poles said. "The guy plays the game the right way and with the right mentality, with a little violence to it. As we continue to collect more guys and guys can elevate to play that style of football, the better off we'll be."

"My little exposure with him when he came in was, 'Holy cow, this guy has got the 'it' factor to him,'" Johnson said. "He's got some dynamic traits in terms of his personality that I think are going to rub off on our guys—and not to mention the way he plays the game is what we want our defense to look like as well."

While Bryant has spent minimal time with Johnson and Allen so far, he is grateful for how they feel about him as a player and excited to exercise those killer instincts on the field in the coming weeks and months.

First and foremost, however, Bryant is focused on gaining the trust of the locker room and building rapport as a leader with his new teammates.

"The biggest thing right now is I just need to lead by example," Bryant said. "I feel like the guys need to see my work ethic, which is nothing new, honestly. I've always been that guy, lead by example first and then be more vocal.And then, once they see the work ethic and me making plays, etc., then they'll start to gravitate towards it."

With multiple leaders of the last season's defense departing in free agency, Bryant will certainly be called upon to serve as a veteran presence in the locker room. Heading into his fifth NFL season, Bryant has plenty of experience serving as a leader both on and off the field and doesn't feel pressure to be anyone but himself.

"They signed Coby Bryant," Bryant explained. "That's who I am. They don't want me to be anything or anybody special; just be me, honestly, and it'll work out the right way."

Bryant already identified strong leadership within the Bears' young core, specifically calling out quarterback Caleb Williams.

During Bryant's introductory press conference in March, he told reporters that Williams was one of the first players to reach out to him after he signed with the Bears. The pair met for the first time Monday but previously exchanged Instagram DMs and texts over the past several weeks.

"It told me a lot, honestly, just that the leader he is at such a young age, that's very rare," Bryant said. "I've been in the league for five years and I've never experienced anything like that as far as having that relationship with the quarterback so early. He's just like I said earlier, he's scratching the surface. He's a great guy, met him today and the sky's the limit for sure."

It won't be long until Williams and Bryant will be going head-to-head on the practice field. Throughout the offseason, Bears coaches, front office personnel and players have all expressed the importance of leaving the emotions from last year's thrilling season in the past and focusing on starting from scratch.

That sentiment also applies to Bryant. The Cleveland native achieved every NFL player's ultimate goal as a Super Bowl LX champion with the Seahawks. While the mental transition from mid-February to now was certainly "a lot" for Bryant, he's completely ready to embrace his new beginnings. That even included him switching his jersey number from No. 8 to No. 2, with the intention of leaving the former in Seattle and creating his a new legacy in Chicago with the latter.

"Once I signed here, everything I've done in Seattle is behind me, honestly," Bryant said. "I'm looking forward to being a part of this team and this organization. Plenty of special things are ahead of us, just scratching the surface and taking it one day at a time."