Did the Bears Make a Mistake by Letting Nahshon Wright Leave?

Honestly, I didn't expect the Bears to re-sign Nahshon Wright at any point during the 2025 NFL season. Even when he was balling out last season and producing takeaways at a wildly efficient rate, I didn't think they'd have enough money to bring him back. I thought he outplayed the contract they'd be willing (and able) to pay him.

As it turns out, he only earned a modest raise (for NFL standards, of course) of roughly $4.5 million. They actually did have enough money to bring him back, and just opted not to.

#Bears DB Nahshon Wright is signing with the #Jets, getting a 1-year, $5.5M max deal, source said. pic.twitter.com/fKM7PZzBXv
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 10, 2026

I'm honestly shocked they didn't bring him back at that price range. I wouldn't go as far as to say that he'll be one of the biggest steals of this year's free agency class (there are real warts to his game, and I think playing under Al Harris probably gave him his best opportunity to thrive), but it is one of the most surprisingly low numbers thus far.

Now, I'm not going to sit here and pretend Wright is going to be the second coming of Sauce Gardner for New York. In fact, the only thing they have in common is their towering height. I'm confident teams saw his tape and the weak spots in his game. His coverage busts were pretty glaring. He's also going to be 28 by Week 4 of the '26 season.

Still, a one-year prove-it deal for only $5.5 million?? I'm not surprised that the market wasn't bustling, and I'm also not surprised he didn't get any long-term offers (he's a one-year wonder at this point in his career), but I'm shocked that's the best offer he received. From a team going nowhere fast in the New York Jets, no less.

I didn't think his penchant for big plays was enough to land him among the league's highest-paid corners (or land anywhere near them, for that matter), but I still expected him to make somewhere around $10 million per year. It turns out, his penchant for giving up big plays played a much bigger role in contract negotiations than I expected.

I'm not upset the Bears passed up on Wright, but I'm surprised they weren't more interested in keeping him around. Dennis Allen doesn't appear to be a big fan of Tyrique Stevenson, who will also be entering the final year of his rookie contract.

Wright also voiced his desire to return to Chicago. It seems like there wasn't an ounce of reciprocation there, though. They just gave Kalif Raymond a one-year deal worth $5.1 million to be their fourth receiver and returner. Meanwhile, Wright played 97% of the defensive snaps last season.

What does the decision indicate for how they feel about the cornerback position?

First off, they announced the signing of Cam Lewis shortly after Wright's deal became official. However, he's more of a nickelback (I bet he's moreso insurance for the often-injured Kyler Gordon), so I don't really think that had anything to do with Wright. It probably does mean that C.J. Gardner-Johnson won't be back, though.

The Bears are signing veteran cornerback Cameron Lewis on a two-year deal, a source said. He's a six-year veteran at the age of 28 with 76 games under his belt, including 10 starts the last two seasons.
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) March 10, 2026

Honestly, I thought the cornerback position was a sneaky underrated weakness entering the offseason. I think it could be a somewhat surprising early-round selection (largely due to Stevenson's status in the final year of his rookie deal) if they feel good about the talent in the class.

Alternatively, it also might indicate that they're confident in the players who weren't available for them last year, including Terell Smith and Zah Frazier. I was excited to see what Smith could do with Dennis Allen calling the shots (he fits the profile of the press-man archetype that he usually covets). Meanwhile, Al Harris seemed to really like what he saw from Frazier's college tape

I wouldn't go as far as to say that I'm disappointed in not bringing Wright back. However, I'm very surprised by the lack of interest on their end given his market value.