The New York Jets have added some sizzle to the secondary.
According to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, revealed on social media that the Jets are signing Chicago Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright to a one-year deal with a maximum value of $5.5 million.
Wright is listed at 6-foot-4 and weighs 199 pounds.
Jets Add Some Elite Juice to the Secondary
Wright, 27, is coming off the best year of his NFL career. The former Laney and Oregon State product was named a Pro Bowler in 2025.
He appeared in all 17 games and made 16 starts. With those opportunities, he registered five interceptions, 11 pass deflections, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, 80 total tackles, and three tackles for loss.
Low Risk vs. High Reward
The Jets signed Wright to the right type of contract. A one-year flier for a player coming off a career season.
Sometimes those types of players get overpaid in the marketplace.
Earlier this offseason, Insider Greg Auman of NFL on FOX predicted that the Jets would sign Wright to a deal in free agency. However, he projected it would be for a lot more moolah.
“Wright, 27, helped himself in 2025 as much as any player, going to the Bears on a league-minimum $1.1 million contract with one interception and three starts in four NFL seasons. He was a ballhawk on one of the NFL’s best takeaway defenses — five interceptions and two forced fumbles, earning a Pro Bowl nod along the way. Chicago is over the salary cap right now, and Wright could end up the high-dollar corner in this not-particularly-deep class, drawing $16 million a year or more,” Auman wrote.
Spotrac projected he would land that type of seismic contract as well. According to their calculated market value, he was expected to sign a three-year $50 million contract. That $16.7 million annual salary would have made him among the top-20 highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL, per Over The Cap.
A Wild NFL Journey
Wright originally entered the league as the No. 99 overall pick in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft.
He was with the Dallas Cowboys for the first three years of his NFL career. In August of 2024, he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in a rare player-for-player swap with Andrew Booth Jr. Wright didn’t play much for the Vikings.
In the first four years of Wright’s career, he started a grand total of three games. Quite frankly, he appeared on his way out of the league.
In April of 2025, Wright joined the Bears on a minimum deal, and the rest is history. Now with the Jets, he will have to prove lightning can strike twice in the same place.
If it can, Wright will be handsomely rewarded by the Jets or one of the other 31 teams in the league next offseason.
The Jets needed to add competition to the cornerback room. Sauce Gardner isn’t here anymore. Wright should immediately compete with Azareye’h Thomas to start opposite Brandon Stephens in 2026.
The Jets could still add more bodies in free agency and in April’s draft to the corner room.
Jets Sign Pro Bowl 6-Foot-4 CB in Free Agency: Report