Inside the Chicago Bears’ defensive meeting room last season, a wire basket sat along the wall, a treasure chest for every takeaway the team collected throughout a division championship season. A few days after each game, the latest riches would be added with the players involved in each turnover using a Sharpie to sign the football before dropping it in.
Said defensive backs coach Al Harris: “There’s momentum built from seeing that. It’s about creating a mindset, then going out and applying it.”
At Halas Hall, the ritual became invigorating — albeit redundant. No team in the league had more takeaways last season than the Bears’ 33. And no player grabbed the Sharpie more often than cornerback Nahshon Wright, who finished second in the NFL with five interceptions while also playing a key role in four fumble takeaways.
Those nine autographs Wright added to the basket are a big reason the 27-year-old is now set up for the biggest payday of his life, heading for the negotiation period of free agency with optimism and leverage.
In early February, Wright added an interception at the Pro Bowl Games, snagging a Shedeur Sanders pass in the back of the end zone for some flag football punctuation to his dream season. His bigger reward, though, figures to come via a new multiyear contract that should easily reach eight figures.
“I’m super proud of Shonny,” Harris said in January. “I know what he has been through.”
The magic of this rise hasn’t been lost on Wright, who was a third-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2021 but found himself stuck there as a backup. He was traded to the Vikings in 2024 and, after a season spent mostly as a practice squad pawn, was released last April.
Amid frustration and uncertainty, Wright not only found his landing spot in Chicago but also a career springboard, using his work habits and fearlessness — plus his bond with Harris — to emerge as an impact playmaker.
“For me, a lot of this was about being able to prove myself right,” he told The Athletic during the final week of the regular season. “With things falling the way they did, I wanted this season to be about reassuring myself that I belong in this league, that I can play.”
Wright would love to stick around— as a defensive standout on an emerging Bears team and working under Harris, his devoted mentor since his NFL journey began. But he also understands his market value may push him beyond the Bears’ price range and on to some place new.
“I’m open-minded, for sure,” Wright said. “If the opportunity presented itself, I would be super excited to stay. But I’m excited for whatever is ahead.”
The inventory of Wright’s 2025 takeaway registry is impressive. His most athletic interception came against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12, a leaping, twisting first-quarter pick of a pass to DK Metcalf along the sideline. That was both a highlight-reel moment and a momentum shifter as the Bears won 31-28 that day, part of a surge in which they claimed 11 victories over a 13-game span.
Wright recorded a takeaway in each of the team’s five November wins, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Month honors.
His fumble recovery in early October against the Commanders also came at a critical moment, with 3:07 remaining to set up the game-winning drive in a belief-building comeback win.
Three weeks later, his Hail Mary interception off Joe Flacco sealed what may have been the year’s wildest game, a 47-42 road triumph in Cincinnati.
Nahshon Wright says his two interceptions against his old team, the Vikings, including this one at U.S. Bank Stadium, are among his favorite moments of the 2025 season. (David Berding / Getty Images)
Still, Wright has his favorite personal moments, including his two interceptions against the Vikings. The first, a 74-yard pick six in the season opener, was an arrival moment, Wright’s first career touchdown — and on “Monday Night Football” against his former team.
“Man,” he said. “You’re not going to forget that. I’m not going to say the Vikings didn’t believe in me. But they didn’t necessarily give me a shot.”
The second came at U.S. Bank Stadium — just three days after Wright’s close friend and former coach at Laney College, John Beam, was shot and killed in California. That moment uncorked a deluge of emotion after Wright outleaped Jordan Addison in the end zone to secure the interception and immediately thought of Beam.
“Amazing,” Wright said. “There was so much I had been through that week.”
Still, Wright doesn’t hesitate to single out his favorite takeaway, his “tush push” theft on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on Black Friday. That came deep in the third quarter with Philadelphia inside the red zone and threatening the Bears’ 10-9 lead. Wright wasn’t having it. He worked around the Eagles’ line to get to Hurts on third-and-1 from the 12, then tore the football away.
“My instincts just kicked in,” Wright said.
That was arguably the signature play of a signature 24-9 upset.
Wright is quick to say his career breakthrough wouldn’t have happened had it not been for the guidance and encouragement from Harris. The duo’s relationship traces back to their three seasons together in Dallas. Both emphasize that there was an immediate click. Harris recognized an eager student willing to listen and work. Wright was drawn to Harris’ competitive spirit and support.
“It’s cool,” he said, “to have someone like that who believes in you.”
Harris’ overarching defensive philosophy is simple. Nothing is more important than the football.
“Everything,” he said, “is about taking the ball away. The ending to every drill, to every play, the mindset has to be all about the ball.
“If you’re not coaching that, you’re not going to get it. … God gave these guys length, speed, talent. It’s my job to get their eyes in the right place.”
Some of Harris’ more specific instructions, though, didn’t immediately compute for Wright. What has become a cheat code for Harris’ DBs over the years — the principle of covering the concept and not the receiver — has nuance Wright needed time to absorb.
In essence, Harris and his players hunt for tactical clues — down-and-distance tips, formational cues, route combination and body language hints during the play — that alert a secondary to what might be coming.
“Now I don’t have to be totally reactionary,” Harris said, “I can be the aggressor. I can beat my man to the ball.”
In his early days in Dallas, Wright heard his coach’s urging but couldn’t apply it.
“No one I had ever been with had ever taught it the way Al teaches it, how he sees things and how he wants to attack the ball. I struggled with that,” Wright said.
Still, he bought into Harris’ credibility. While in Kansas City in 2015 as a Chiefs assistant, Harris helped rookie Marcus Peters to a league-leading eight-interception season. (Peters added 11 more interceptions over the next two years.)
In Dallas in 2021, and directly in front of Wright, Trevon Diggs exploded in his second season under Harris, leading the NFL with 11 interceptions and earning All-Pro honors.
“At one point,” Wright said, “Tre had seven picks in six games. So I’m like, ‘It’s got to work.’ You start to believe in it and actually drill it. That’s when Al and I started doing things after practice. Because I really wanted to learn it.”
Two seasons later, Daron Bland — a 2022 fifth-round pick who vaulted past Wright on the Cowboys’ depth chart — snatched nine picks and took five to the end zone.
“The biggest part of Al’s teaching is being slow and patient,” Wright said. “And not necessarily letting that receiver move you. There’s a read we’ll get during the route, and nine times out of 10, it’s spot on. The way Al teaches that is special.”
When Wright’s window of opportunity to become a Bears starter opened last year, first during organized team activities and then at training camp because of Jaylon Johnson’s injury absence, he felt his comfort growing and his playmaking instincts sharpening.
“When that light bulb goes on, you play a lot faster,” he said. “You break on the ball faster. It’s hard to explain. But it’s like a built-in confidence where if you’re on your A game, there’s nothing a receiver can do to mess you up.”
Added Harris: “Shonny busts his ass every day. In practice. After practice. His understanding of what’s being coached, his movement, his confidence are night and day from his rookie year. … His confidence unlocked his aggression.”
Now it’s time to see what’s next.
Wright confesses that when he purchased land in Manteca, Calif., years back and then again when he submitted for permits to build a house there, his financial adviser cautioned against it. Too much uncertainty surrounded his future.
Still, the cornerback felt confident he’d figure it all out.
“Look,” Wright said, “I plan on being in this league a long time.”
Amid everything Wright is proud of from his breakout season, locking into the growth process remains near the top of the list. The 1,041 defensive snaps he played in 2025 were nearly four times as many as he had during his four seasons with the Cowboys and Vikings combined.
Admittedly, Wright’s season was far from perfect. He allowed 53 receptions with opposing quarterbacks posting a 94.7 rating when throwing his direction. But he leaned into the rough moments as lessons.
“Experience-wise, it was basically my rookie year,” Wright said. “Our coaches believed in me and allowed me to go and play free. They threw me out there, feeding me to the wolves.”
With a smile, Wright acknowledges he was happy to be fed. Now, he’s ready to cash in with what should be a life-changing free-agency reward.
Wright already has two pieces of art ready for his new home. Those two interceptions against the Vikings? One Bears fan had photos of each and, one evening at the roundabout outside Halas Hall, gave them to cornerback Tyrique Stevenson to pass along.
“I can’t put a finger on why this has all happened the way it has,” Wright said. “But I’m excited to keep going.”