Ex-Vikings Player Heads to Bears
That was fast.
Ex-Vikings Player Heads to Bears
The Minnesota Vikings cut ties with cornerback Nahshon Wright on Monday, an April roster casualty to clear roster space for a move to be announced later.
The following day, one of the Vikings’ top rivals, the Chicago Bears, pounced, and Wright is a Bear. He’ll stay in the NFC North.
Nahshon Wright to Chicago
ChicagoBears.com revealed this week: “The Chicago Bears on Tuesday signed veteran defensive back Nahshon Wright to a one-year contract. Wright joins the Bears after spending last season with the Minnesota Vikings (2024) following his first three professional seasons as a member of the Dallas Cowboys (2021-23).”
The NFL draft is about two weeks away, and the Bears chose to add a bit of secondary depth before the event.
A Short Stop in Minnesota
Before the Bears signing on Tuesday, Wright spent eight months in Minnesota, traded by the Dallas Cowboys to the Vikings for Andrew Booth last August. Minnesota drafted Booth in 2022 with a 2nd-Round pick, he didn’t pan out, so general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah sent him to Dallas. He received Wright in return.
Wright didn’t last in the active roster plans for long, dropped by the Vikings amid roster trimdowns late last summer. But after the franchise finalized the 53-man roster, it added Wright to the practice squad, where he stayed for the majority of the 2024 season. He was active for a game, playing exclusively on special teams.
For Dallas and Minnesota in 2024, Wright played no regular season defensive snaps. He had a year off in that regard.
The Bears’ Cornerbacks
While most acknowledge that Wright has an uphill battle to make any team’s roster in 2025, he’ll join this Bears cornerback room, with more names on the way during and after the draft:
- Jaylon Johnson
- Tyrique Stevenson
- Kyler Gordon
- Terrell Smith
- Nick McCloud
- Josh Blackwell
- Ameer Speed
- Shaun Wade
- Nahshon Wright
Johnson headlines the group as a two-time Pro Bowler from the 2023 and 2024 campaigns.
What Bears Media Says about Wright
Chicago Sun Times‘ Patrick Finley wrote about Wright to Chicago: “Wright went to Oregon State, where he posted five interceptions in two years after transferring from Laney College, where he won a national junior college championship.”
“Wright’s new position coach knows all about him — Al Harris was the Cowboys’ defensive backs coach when the two were in Dallas. The Bears named Harris their defensive backs coach/pass-game coordinator this offseason.”
SI.com‘s Gene Chamberlain added, “The Cowboys traded him to Minnesota even up for cornerback Andrew Booth after the 2023 season. Coming to Chicago, Wright will be up against steep competition for playing time. Josh Blackwell, Terell Smith, Shaun Wade, Nick McCloud and Ameer Speed are on the roster as backups behind starters Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon.”
Wright is known for his height at 6’4,” unusually tall for a cornerback.
Vikings’ Defense without Wright
Sans Wright in the mix this spring and summer, the Vikings will lean on corners Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rodgers, Mekhi Blackmon, Jeff Okudah, and Dwight McGlothern near the top of the ticket.
Minnesota could also draft a corner in two weeks, as some believe that’s the top roster need in April. Free agents such as Asante Samuel Jr. or Jack Jones could also tickle the team’s fancy, and Green Bay Packers’ corner Jaire Alexander might be available before too long.
Wright is a cousin to Vikings cornerback Mekhi Blackmon.
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