Nahshon Wright
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The Bears have been predicted to lose star cornerback Nahshon Wright in free agency to the Jets
The Chicago Bears were one of the breakout teams in 2025. After winning just five games the year before, the Bears emerged from out of nowhere to win the NFC North division, and they very nearly advanced to the NFC Championship Game, only to suffer a crushing overtime defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Chicago has a good thing going for it, but keeping some of its key players around this offseason is going to be tough. One guy who seems set to cash in on a big-money deal is cornerback Nahshon Wright, and with free agency looming, he was recently predicted to spurn the Bears and sign an expensive contract with the New York Jets.
Bears Predicted to Lose Nahshon Wright to the Jets
Entering the 2025 campaign, expectations weren’t particularly high for Wright. A former third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Wright struggled to carve out a role for himself in prior stops with the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings. The Bears took a flier on him in free agency last offseason, and it ended up paying off in a big way.
Wright started all but one game for Chicago last season, and he ended up turning in one of the most impressive seasons for a cornerback across the league. Wright finished the year with 80 tackles, five interceptions (one of which he returned for a touchdown), 11 pass deflections, and two forced fumbles. Those big numbers earned Wright the first Pro Bowl selection of his career.
While that was great for the Bears in 2025, it has created a problem for them ahead of free agency. Chicago is currently over the salary cap, which is going to make re-signing Wright very tough. There are ample ways to create cap space, but even then, bringing Wright back is going to be tough, which led Greg Auman of Fox Sports to predict that he will sign with the New York Jets on a deal worth around $16 million per year.
“Wright, 27, helped himself in 2025 as much as any player,” Auman wrote. “He was a ballhawk on one of the NFL’s best takeaway defenses — five interceptions and two forced fumbles, earning a Pro Bowl nod along the way. Chicago is over the salary cap right now, and Wright could end up the high-dollar corner in this not-particularly-deep class, drawing $16 million a year or more. Prediction: Signs with Jets.”
Should the Bears Re-Sign Nahshon Wright?
Bears CB Nahshon Wright
GettyBears CB Nahshon Wright
In a perfect world, Chicago would throw however much money Wright wants his way in order to keep him in town, but it isn’t that simple. With the Bears having other holes on their roster to address this offseason, they can’t afford to burn a ton of money on Wright. They could place the franchise tag on him, but it’s fair to wonder if Wright is worth the amount of money that would come with that sort of deal.
Losing Wright would be a tough pill to swallow, but unless something changes drastically over the next month or so, it’s looking increasingly likely that he will be finding a new home this offseason. As a result, Chicago’s front office could be looking for another bargain-bin option at cornerback in free agency, in hopes of finding a guy like Wright who can be a plug-and-play starter in 2026.