As much as it’s never a good time for the Bears to be without star cornerback Jaylon Johnson, it’s not the end of the world for them to be missing him during training camp. He’s out several with a leg injury he sustained during offseason training and, when he returns, he’ll probably be the same lockdown corner he’s always been.
In the meantime, the Bears are making the most of the moment by taking stock of what they have beyond Johnson, and an unknown has emerged: Nahshon Wright. The 26-year-old Vikings and Cowboys castoff impressed enough in offseason practices to get Johnson’s job while he’s out.
If defensive coordinator Dennis Allen thinks that highly of him already, it’s a boost to the Bears’ depth at a position in which there’s never such thing as a surplus, but it’s competition for Tyrique Stevenson in the starting lineup. Stevenson also is fending off yet another push by backup Terell Smith.
Multiple Bears hadn’t heard of Wright before he joined the team, “but I’m familiar with him now,” wide receiver Rome Odunze said with a smile.
“Man, he’s a baller,” Odunze said. “Not many 6-foot-4 corners are out there with his capabilities, suddenness and agility. It’s been a challenge going against him every single day.”
When Allen came aboard, he made it clear the Bears want tall cornerbacks who excel in man-to-man coverage and pressing wide receivers at the line of scrimmage. Defensive backs coach Al Harris had just the guy for him.
Harris held that role with the Cowboys the four three seasons and coached Wright from the time they drafted him in the third round out of Oregon State in 2021 to the thud of them trading him to the Vikings last August.
The Vikings cut him and kept him on the practice squad all season, then released him in April. The Bears signed him the next day. He had no idea at the time, of course, what a good situation it would turn out to be.
“It allows me to show that I can compete with the 1s and go out there and make plays,” Wright told the Sun-Times. “If my number needs to be called, I can provide. This is one of my best ‘opps’ at showing what I can do.”
It’s already near-certain that Wright, who also has 626 snaps on special teams, will make the roster, but he’s got a chance at much more. He’s the team’s tallest defensive back, four inches taller than Johnson, Stevenson and Smith, and safety Jaquan Brisker noted Monday that he’s been breaking up passes “all over the place” since training camp opened.
That’s especially interesting when it comes to Stevenson. If he holds off Smith, Allen will have to decide who he trusts more out of Stevenson and Wright once Johnson is healthy.
For everything coach Ben Johnson has said about Stevenson getting a fresh start, that’s never entirely true for a player. New coaches might forgive, but they don’t forget.
General manager Ryan Poles drafted Stevenson in the second round in 2023 and he’s been a starter ever since. His talent isn’t in question whatsoever, but his reliability is.
That concern peaked when Stevenson was at the center of the Bears’ “Fail Mary” loss to the Commanders and will linger for the foreseeable future. Not only was he more attentive to trash-talking fans, but when he realized what was going on, he unwittingly sabotaged his teammates’ shot at stopping a touchdown pass that cost them the game and sent their season into a spiral.
Whether it’s challenging Stevenson for a spot or simply winning a potentially important backup job, the door is wide open for Wright, and every indication so far is that he’s determined to run through it.