Bethea was projected to be a third- or fourth-round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the sixth best free safety prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and was ranked the 17th best safety in the draft by
ESPN Scouts Inc. Indianapolis Colts The
Indianapolis Colts selected Bethea in the sixth round (207th overall) of the
2006 NFL draft. Bethea was the 21st safety drafted in 2006.
2006 On July 30, 2006, the Indianapolis Colts signed Bethea to a four-year,
$1.67 million contract that includes a
signing bonus of $79,420. Throughout training camp, Bethea competed to be the starting free safety against
Mike Doss and
Matt Giordano. Head coach
Tony Dungy named Bethea the starting free safety to begin the regular season, alongside strong safety
Bob Sanders. He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the
Indianapolis Colts' season-opener at the
New York Giants and recorded six combined tackles and a pass deflection in their 26–21 victory. He was inactive during the Colts' Week 13 loss at the
Tennessee Titans due to an injury. The following week, he aggravated his shoulder injury and subsequently missed the Colts' Week 15 victory against the
Cincinnati Bengals. The Indianapolis Colts' safeties sustained numerous injuries throughout the regular season, including strong safety Bob Sanders, who sustained a knee injury and was limited to four games. Veteran Mike Doss tore his ACL in Week 7 and missed the last nine games after being placed on injured reserve. Bethea started the first ten games and began developing a reputation for delivering big hits over the middle. His performance placed him in line as a possible rookie of the year candidate. He finished his rookie season with 90 combined tackles (66 solo), four pass deflections, and an interception in 14 games and 14 starts. The Indianapolis Colts finished first in the
AFC South with a 12–4 record. On January 6, 2007, Bethea started in his first career playoff game and recorded three solo tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by quarterback
Trent Green in the Colts' 23–8 victory against the
Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Wildcard Game.
2007 Bethea entered training camp slated as the starting free safety. Defensive coordinator
Ron Meeks retained Bethea and Bob Sanders as the starting safeties to begin the regular season. On September 30, 2007, Bethea collected seven solo tackles during a 38–20 victory against the
Denver Broncos in Week 4. The following week, he collected a season-high seven combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception in the Colts' 33–14 victory against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5. In Week 8, Bethea made a season-high three pass deflections, five combined tackles, and an interception during a 31–7 victory against the
Carolina Panthers. Bethea missed the last three games of the regular season due to a knee injury (Weeks 15–17). He finished his second season with 65 combined tackles (43 solo), eight pass deflections, and four interceptions in 13 games and 13 starts. On January 28, 2008, it was reported that Bethea would be playing in the
2008 Pro Bowl. He was originally chosen as a second alternate and was needed after injuries to safeties
Troy Polamalu and Bob Sanders.
2008 Bethea and Sanders remained the starting safeties to begin the regular season. On November 2, 2008, Bethea recorded a season-high ten solo tackles during an 18–15 victory against the
New England Patriots in Week 9. The following week, he collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (six solo) in the Colts' 24–20 win at the
Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10. He finished the season with 101 combined tackles (74 solo), four pass deflections, and two interceptions in 16 games and 16 starts. On September 21, 2009, Bethea collected a season-high eight solo tackles, a pass deflection, and an intercepted a pass by
Tarvaris Jackson during a 27–23 victory at the
Miami Dolphins in Week 2. The
Indianapolis Colts finished first in the AFC South with a 14–2 record, clinching a first round bye and home-field advantage. On January 16, 2010, Bethea recorded three combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by
Joe Flacco during a 20–3 victory against the
Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round.
2010 On March 3, 2010, the Indianapolis Colts placed a first round, $2.51 million tender on Bethea. He held out of organized team activities and declined to sign their restricted free agent tender. On July 11, 2010, the Indianapolis Colts signed Bethea to a four-year, $27 million contract that includes an $8 million signing bonus. Defensive coordinator
Larry Coyer retained Bethea and Sanders the starting safety duo to begin the 2010 regular season. Bethea started in the
Indianapolis Colts season-opener at the
Houston Texans and collected a 13 combined tackles (eight solo) and a pass deflection in their 34–24 loss. He finished with 107 combined tackles (77 solo), five pass deflections, an interception, a forced fumble, and half a sack in 16 games and 16 starts. In Week 5, Bethea collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (six solo) in the Colts' 28–24 loss to the
Kansas City Chiefs. On November 6, 2011, Bethea recorded a season-high eight solo tackles and assisted on three more tackles during their 31–7 loss to the
Atlanta Falcons in Week 9. He finished the season with a career-high 139 combined tackles (80 solo), seven pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery in 16 games and 16 starts. On January 17, 2012, new general manager
Ryan Grigson decided to fire head coach Jim Caldwell after the Colts finished with a 2–14 record. Head coach
Chuck Pagano retained Bethea as the Colts' starting free safety to begin the regular season, along with strong safety
Tom Zbikowski. He started in the
Indianapolis Colts' season-opener at the
Chicago Bears and recorded a season-high nine solo tackles and two pass deflections in their 41–21 loss. On November 8, 2012, he collected seven solo tackles and made his first career solo sack during a 27–10 victory at the
Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 10. He sacked quarterback
Blaine Gabbert for a one-yard loss in the fourth quarter. On December 16, 2012, Bethea made five solo tackles and sacked quarterback
Matt Schaub in the Colts' 29–17 loss at the
Houston Texans in Week 15. He finished the season with 100 combined tackles (75 solo), seven passes defensed, and a career-high two sacks in 16 games and 16 starts. Bethea started in the
Indianapolis Colts' season-opener against the
Oakland Raiders and recorded 11 combined tackles (six solo), a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by
Terrelle Pryor in their 21–17 victory. This marked his first interception since 2010. On December 8, 2013, Bethea collected a career-high 17 combined tackles (ten solo) during a 42–28 loss at the
Cincinnati Bengals in Week 14. Bethea finished his last season with the Indianapolis Colts with a total of 110 combined tackles (80 solo), six pass deflections, an interception, and a sack in 16 games and 16 starts.
San Francisco 49ers On March 12, 2014, the
San Francisco 49ers signed Bethea to a four-year, $21 million contract with $15.02 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $5.25 million. He started in the
San Francisco 49ers' season-opener at the
Dallas Cowboys and recorded six solo tackles and a pass deflection in their 28–17 victory. In Week 10, Bethea collected a season-high eight combined tackles, broke up a pass, and intercepted a pass by
Drew Brees during a 27–24 overtime victory at the
New Orleans Saints. On December 20, 2014, Bethea recorded a season-high tying eight combined tackles, two pass deflections, and returned an interception by
Philip Rivers for a 49-yard touchdown during a 38–35 overtime loss to the
San Diego Chargers in Week 16. His touchdown occurred in the second quarter and marked the first score of his career. On December 24, 2014, it was announced that Bethea was selected to be an alternate for the
2015 Pro Bowl. On December 28, 2014, it was announced that the San Francisco 49ers and head coach Jim Harbaugh decided to mutually part ways after the
2014 season. He finished his first season in San Francisco with 86 combined tackles (72 solo), ten pass deflections, four interceptions, a forced fumble, and a touchdown in 16 games and 16 starts.
2015 Bethea and Eric Reid entered training camp slated as the starting safeties by defensive coordinator
Vic Fangio. The San Francisco 49ers' new head coach
Jim Tomsula officially named Bethea and Reid the starters entering the regular season. In Week 5, Bethea collected a season-high ten combined tackles (six solo) and a pass deflection during a 30–27 loss at the
New York Giants. On October 22, 2015, Bethea made five combined tackles before exiting a 20–3 loss to the
Seattle Seahawks in the third quarter with an injury. The following day, the San Francisco 49ers placed him on injured reserve with a torn pectoral muscle. Bethea finished the
2015 season with a total of 44 combined tackles (32 solo), two passes defensed, and an interception in seven games and seven starts. The San Francisco 49ers hired former Philadelphia Eagles' head coach
Chip Kelly as their head coach for the 2016 season. This became Bethea's fourth different coach in the last four seasons. Head coach Chip Kelly retained Bethea and
Eric Reid as the starting safety tandem to start the regular season. On September 18, 2016, Bethea recorded nine combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by quarterback
Cam Newton in a 45–27 loss at the
Carolina Panthers in Week 2. In Week 4, he collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (11 solo) and broke up a pass during a 24–17 loss to the
Baltimore Ravens. Bethea started all 16 games in 2016 recording 110 combined tackles (96 solo), three passes defensed, one forced fumble, and an interception in 16 games and 16 starts. On January 1, 2017, the 49ers announced the firing of head coach Chip Kelly after the team finished with a 2–14 record. On March 7, 2017, the 49ers granted Bethea's request to be released.
Arizona Cardinals 2017 On March 9, 2017, the
Arizona Cardinals signed Bethea to a three-year, $12.75 million contract] that includes $4 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2 million. Throughout training camp, Bethea competed against
Tyvon Branch to be the starting strong safety. Head coach
Bruce Arians named him the backup free safety behind Tyvon Branch to start the regular season. On October 15, 2017, Bethea recorded five combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by quarterback
Jameis Winston during a 38–33 victory against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6. The interception marked his third consecutive game with a pick. The following week, he collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (ten solo) and a pass deflection in the Cardinals' 33–0 loss at the
Los Angeles Rams in Week 7. He was surpassed on the depth chart by rookie first-round pick
Budda Baker after Tyvon Branch was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. Bethea remained the backup strong safety behind Baker for the remainder of the season. On December 24, 2017, Bethea made three solo tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted two pass attempts by
Eli Manning in a 23–0 win against the
New York Giants in Week 16. On December 26, 2017, the Arizona Cardinals placed Bethea on injured reserve after he tore his pectoral a muscle in Week 16. He completed the
2017 season with 57 combined tackles (47 solo), nine pass deflections, a career-high five interceptions, and a sack in 15 games and six starts.
2018 On January 2, 2018, head coach Bruce Arians announced his retirement and resigned as head coach of the Cardinals. The Arizona Cardinals hired
Steve Wilks who became Bethea's sixth head coach in as many seasons. He was named the Cardinals starting free safety, starting in all 16 games. He finished the season with a team-leading 120 tackles, four pass deflections, and a career-high three sacks. On March 8, 2019, Bethea was released by the Cardinals.
New York Giants On March 14, 2019, Bethea signed with the
New York Giants. In week 8 against the
Detroit Lions, Bethea forced a fumble on wide receiver
Kenny Golladay and recovered the football in the 31–26 loss. In week 9 on
Monday night football against the
Dallas Cowboys, Bethea intercepted a pass from
Dak Prescott on the first play of the game and recovered a fumble forced by teammate
Jabrill Peppers on
Randall Cobb in the 37–18 loss. On March 18, 2020, the Giants informed Bethea that they would not exercise his contract option, making him a free agent. On January 7, 2021, Bethea announced his retirement, after playing for 14 seasons in the NFL. ==NFL career statistics==