Inside The Vikings

Vikings cut cornerback they acquired in Andrew Booth Jr. trade last year

Nahshon Wright is a former third-round pick who will now be looking for another NFL opportunity.
Will Ragatz|
The Vikings have released former Cowboys cornerback Nahshon Wright.
The Vikings have released former Cowboys cornerback Nahshon Wright. | Images Courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

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Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings have released cornerback Nahshon Wright, the team announced on Monday. He was acquired from the Cowboys in a trade for Andrew Booth Jr. last August, spent the season on Minnesota's practice squad, and then signed a reserve/futures contract in January.

The Booth-for-Wright swap hasn't paid dividends for either team, which was always the most likely outcome. At the time, it was a trade of former Day 2 draft picks who hadn't panned out but might theoretically have some upside with a change of scenery.

Wright, a third-round pick by Dallas out of Oregon State in 2021, averaged fewer than 100 defensive snaps per season over his first three years in the league, also seeing time on special teams. After being traded to the Vikings, he was cut after training camp and stuck around on the practice squad. The 6'4", 200-pound Wright is a massive corner who will now be looking for another NFL opportunity. He's 26 years old.

Booth, who the Vikings took in the second round in 2022, played 118 defensive snaps for Dallas last season and really struggled. His 35.6 PFF grade ranked 153rd out of 156 corners to play at least 100 snaps in 2024. He also spent time on the practice squad, and he remains on the Cowboys' roster at the moment. Booth was viewed as a high-upside pick when the Vikings took him 42nd overall three years ago, but injuries and poor play have kept his career from taking off. He saw roughly 250 snaps in two seasons with Minnesota.

Releasing Wright has a minimal impact on the Vikings' salary cap due to the top-51 rule. It doesn't come with any dead money. It's an interesting move mostly because it's early April and the Vikings aren't anywhere close to the 90-man offseason roster limit. Maybe they think cutting him now, before the draft and OTAs, will give him a better chance to latch on with another team.

The Vikings currently have ten cornerbacks on their roster:

  • Byron Murphy Jr.
  • Isaiah Rodgers
  • Mekhi Blackmon
  • Jeff Okudah
  • Tavierre Thomas
  • Dwight McGlothern
  • NaJee Thompson
  • Ambry Thomas
  • Reddy Steward
  • Khalef Hailassie

Jack Jones, who was officially released by the Raiders on Monday, is an intriguing name to monitor.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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