Bear Digest

Where the Changing Scene in Chicago Bears Secondary Is Heading

With Nahshon Wright leaving and Cameron Lewis coming on board, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is sure to be shuttling players around during offseason work.
Gene Chamberlain|
Cam Lewis, a new Bears defensive back, tries to run down Dolphins running back De'Von Achane for Buffalo last season.
Cam Lewis, a new Bears defensive back, tries to run down Dolphins running back De'Von Achane for Buffalo last season. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Nahshon Wright surprised everyone when he came to the Bears and now he does it again as he leaves.

The surprise when Wright came, of course, was that he made the team,  then contributed as a fill-in, and then made one big play after another. He even found a way to stop the tush push without a vote of league owners. From rags and the Vikings waiver wire to Pro Bowl status with the Bears, what a rise.

The surprise when he left on Tuesday was the one-year deal for a possible $5.5  million he received from the Jets, according to the report by Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz.

The Bears signed a cornerback after that, former Bills DB Cam Lewis on a two-year deal. Unlike Wright, Lewis isn't really an outside cornerback at 5-foot-9, 183 pounds. He is the replacement for C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Nick McCloud as slot backup to Kyler Gordon.

Wright, a Pro Bowl cornerback, might make only $400,000 more than the Bears paid for fourth wide receiver and return man Kalif Raymond.

On the Cheap

The people picking their jaws up are from Spotrac.com and The Athletic, an even at Pro Football Focus to a small extent. Spotrac had projected $16.7 million for Wright, Daniel Popper at The Athletic three years and $40.5 million and PFF had him at two years and $7 million a year.

The Athletic listed him 46th best free agent overall while PFF said 115th.

So what happened? How could 1) Wright fail to impress everyone and 2) the Bears let him leave at a cost so low?

Anyone who watched Wright and raved about his five interceptions and eight overall takeaways failed to look closely at a few important facts. Those didn't escape PFF, though.

As PFF pointed out, Wright allowed 800 yards in completions, the fifth most of any cornerback in the NFL. It was a major reason the Bears ranked 28th in yards allowed per pass attempt, a very telling statistic in the NFL. He either took away the ball or he got toasted. He allowed six touchdown receptions, per Stathead/Pro Football Reference.

It was high-risk and high-reward with Wright but the Bears really had little choice. They lost both Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon for huge chunks of the season.

Why let Wright leave?

Why they wouldn't bring him back at that price is pretty simple. They know what his strengths and weaknesses better than anyone.

Although Popper had Wright graded so highly and with a bigger contract projection, he nailed the skill set summation.

"Wright is not a sudden athlete and does not have the burst to stop, plant and accelerate consistently against sharp route runners," Popper wrote. "He can lag behind on in-breaking routes and give up separation on those reps. Despite his (6-foot-4) size, Wright is not as good from press alignments, where his change-of-direction skills can get exposed."

Tee Higgins and plenty of others took advantage of those weaknesses. Wright did have the interceptions, and, incredibly, his five were five more than his new team had for the entire season. Obviously, he's needed there much more than in Chicago.

This leaves the Bears with Tyrique Stevenson starting in a contract year and then Jaylon Johnson returning to his normal form, probably 99% better than he was when he attempted the impossible task of returning from core surgery during 2025.

Changed 2026 secondary

Considering how they haven't signed anyone else at this position on Day 2 of the signing period, the future beyond the two starters looks like the return of Terell Smith from an ACL tear suffered in training camp and the debut of delayed rookie Zah Frazier.

Also, the Bears were talking with a lot of cornerbacks at the combine from what players said during interviews. This seemed strange considering how they seemed to have a cornerback surplus but as it turns out, they don't.

Brad Biggs of the Tribune, speaking on his regular morning radio spot on WSCR's Mully & Haugh, pointed out how there had been talk the Bears had interest in a trade for New Orleans cornerback Alontae Taylor before free agency started. Taylor went to the Titans at three years and $60 million, so it's obvious why they didn't complete that move.

All of this secondary movement and interest in cornerbacks points to two things. One is something everyone knew before last season began.

Dennis Allen is very particular about who goes into his secondary and didn't necessarily think last year's group fit what he wanted to do. He was making due with what he had. They'll change it up now.

Also, they'll draft a starting cornerback now somewhere higher  than they took Frazier last year, which was Round 5.

Add one other possibility into this. Gordon was talked about as a possible safety candidate by Allen last offseason. With Lewis in the fold, they have a slot who had outstanding percentages and passer ratings against while working the slot for Buffalo last year.

Might they move Gordon to one safety spot alongside new acquisition Coby Bryant, and let Lewis take over as slot cornerback?

All of it suggests this is going to be a very interesting series of OTAs and minicamp during May and June in the Bears' secondary because Allen could use it all as a lab to prepare a new mix for camp.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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