The NFL life had been unkind to Nahshon Wright for years. He’d come in as a 3rd round pick. Expectations were pretty high. Experts saw him as a tall, athletic corner with good ball skills. Unfortunately, he could never impress the Dallas Cowboys coaches enough to get consistent playing time. That didn’t change when he tried out with Minnesota earlier this year. After they released him, it looked like he might be running out of opportunities. It was then that he got a call from Al Harris. The coach had just taken over the Chicago Bears secondary and was looking for help. Wright jumped at the opportunity.
Everybody thought Wright was a training camp body who’d maybe fight for the fourth or fifth cornerback spot on the depth chart at most. Then the injuries struck. Jaylon Johnson tore his core muscle. Kyler Gordon suffered multiple soft tissue problems. Terell Smith tore his ACL. Just like that, the ocrnerback position had been decimated. Wright was thrust into a starting role. In response, he collected five interceptions, ranking second in the NFL. It is easily the most shocking breakout in the league this season.
When asked about the prospect of staying in Chicago and continuing to work with Harris after this season, the cornerback made his feelings clear.
Nahshon Wright has an understandable stance.
Unfortunately, the Bears aren’t in a position to accommodate him. There is no question he will be looking for a big payday this spring, as he should. Players should take every opportunity to get the most money they can. Nahshon Wright has all the reasons in the world to cash in. The problem is the Bears don’t have the money. As of the time of writing, they are projected to have less than $3 million in cap space next offseason. That is not a lot. GM Ryan Poles will have to do some serious bookkeeping to find enough room. That means some possible contract restructures, as well as potential cuts and/or trades.
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Even then, Nahshon Wright won’t return. Most of that is because the Bears have already handed out big contracts to two other cornerbacks: Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon. There is no way either of them will be cut to make room for Wright and Poles won’t hand yet another large deal to another cornerback. That isn’t smart business. The likely outcome is Chicago will let Wright test free agency and sign elsewhere. He gets the big deal he wants, and they might receive a compensatory pick in the future.
