One of the biggest surprises this season for the Chicago Bears has been the performance of veteran cornerback Nahshon Wright. The Bears signed Wright to a cheap one-year, $1.1 million contract in April after getting waived by the Minnesota Vikings to see if he could give them some depth and compete for a 53-man roster spot.
Fast forward several months, and Wright has made himself a household name in the Windy City and could be in line for a significant pay raise this offseason. The 27-year-old Wright just won the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November and is tied for second in the league in interceptions with five.
Wright spoke about the impact that Bears defensive backs/passing game coordinator Al Harris has made on him on Thursday. If you’re a Bears fan, you hope that Harris’s presence can keep Wright in Chicago.
“Teams gave up on me. It’s cool to have someone like that who believes in you,” Wright said via Adam Hoge of CHGO. According to Hoge, the standout veteran cornerback also told reporters that “he’d love to play for Harris the rest of his career.”
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Wright has exceeded all expectations in his first season in the Windy City and stepped up to help a secondary missing key starters (Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon) because of injury.
The 6-foot-4, 199-pound cornerback has predominantly been a depth cornerback and special teams contributor for most of his career. However, he’s shown Chicago and the rest of the NFL that he can be a starting-caliber cornerback.
Now, Wright has given up his fair share of touchdowns (six) this season. But you’ll live with it, as he’s a matchup nightmare on the outside, as he’s taller or at least the same height as many of the wide receivers he defends. Opponents are only completing 58.9% of their passes against Wright, who has an 82.0 passer rating.
A significant portion of Wright’s success can be attributed to the work of Harris, who was with the former third-round pick in Dallas for three years. Harris, who was a good cornerback himself in the NFL, has become one of the league’s better defensive minds.
With his success in Dallas and now in Chicago, it's not impossible to think that he won’t become a defensive coordinator very soon. The Bears hope that’s not right now, as they would love to keep him around, along with Wright.
If he doesn’t get poached for a better opportunity, that bodes well for the Bears even if Wright were to get a better offer elsewhere in free agency. Based on his comments, it seems like he wants to stick with Harris wherever he goes. We’ll see if that holds in the coming months.