Veteran cornerback Nahshon Wright was a boom-or-bust defender for the Chicago Bears in 2025. He came up with five interceptions but occasionally got burned in coverage. With the Bears' defense entering its second year of being coached by defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, Wright looks like a likely walk candidate when free agency begins on Wednesday, March 11.
The Bears do have a lot to do on defense — they have no safeties under contract right now, and they are likely to make major changes at corner, too. If Wright departs, the Bears could use the savings, though his cap hit was only about $1.1 million in 2025, while Spotrac is projecting that he could earn $16.7 million annually on his next deal.
The harder part is replacing Wright, which will likely need to be done with some outside help.
Free Agency Will Be Key to Bears Replacing Nahshon Wright
If the Bears look to free agency, Pro Football Focus lists cornerbacks like Jamel Dean (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Jaylen Watson (Kansas City Chiefs), Tariq Woolen (Seattle Seahawks), and Mike Hilton (Indianapolis Colts) as the top five. However, those players may be a little too expensive in terms of replacing Wright, especially if his replacement ends up being a nickelback or rotates in, as opposed to starting.
Remember, Wright was a relative bargain. So, looking at the free-agent class, bargain corners include Tre'Davious White. White's last deal with the Buffalo Bills wasn't much more than the Bears paid Wright, coming in at a $1.56 million base salary and a $3 million cap hit.
Other options include Tre Avery (Cleveland Browns), Asante Samuel Jr. (Pittsburgh Steelers) — who the Bears previously had eyes for — and Corey Ballentine (Dallas Cowboys). There are a lot of free agent cornerbacks who made the same or slightly more than Wright did in 2025.
The problem the Bears face is that most of these players are just "guys." As in players who don't have star power or the stats to match. The good news is that sometimes one of these players can come in and make an impact for low cost — as Wright did for Chicago in 2025.
Despite his five picks, it's hard to see Wright returning to Chicago. Again, there's the cost savings (though that might be washed out by a free-agent signing of similar cost, obviously), but Wright also was victimized occasionally for big plays. And with the Bears looking to possibly re-sign other members of the secondary and improve the pass rush via free agency or a high-draft pick, they will likely prioritize other needs and players.
Wright will always be remembered in Chicago for his contributions to a magical season in which the Bears outpaced expectations, finishing 11-6 before beating heated rival Green Bay in a playoff game. It was a season in which takeaways often helped an otherwise leaky defense turn around games that the Bears were losing, and Wright's picks were part of that.
The Bears came back to win so many times that they were dubbed the "Cardiac Bears", and Wright helped spark some of those comebacks.
But he's not likely to be the long-term, or even short-term, solution as a depth cornerback for Chicago. The Bears will likely be replacing Wright in the coming weeks, and all that's left to do is see where he'll end up next.