“Silly Season” is upon us in the NFL world.

It’s the time of year when unsubstantiated rumors catch fire and set fanbases ablaze with heated debates about what their favorite teams should and should not do.

There are plenty of these rumors surrounding the New York Jets right now. One of the latest hot topics involves a popular name out of Chicago who has been linked to the New York.

FOX Sports recently published an article that predicted the Jets will sign Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright, potentially for over $16 million per year.

Of course, the article itself is purely speculative and not intended to be a report of actual interest. However, it gives us an opportunity to nip the concept in the bud before it takes hold in Jetsland.

The Jets should not have interest in Wright—certainly not for that price, at least.

Why the Jets should avoid Nahshon Wright

A 2021 third-round pick of the Cowboys, Wright was an unknown name around the NFL over his first four NFL seasons, starting just three games for Dallas and the Minnesota Vikings from 2021-24.

The lack of playing time was due to Wright’s unplayable numbers in coverage. Through 2024, he had allowed a whopping 1.70 yards per cover snap, which, for perspective, is 68% higher than the 2025 league average for corners (1.01). As a result, he mainly played on special teams.

Wright joined the Bears on a one-year, $1.1 million contract in 2025, and out of nowhere, he had a breakout season, starting 16 games and earning Pro Bowl honors.

However, Wright’s resume screams “one-year wonder”. Very little about his 2025 season suggests he can be trusted to provide a sustainable positive impact moving forward.

The main source of the hype around Wright is the five interceptions that he snagged, tying for the most among cornerbacks. This number requires context, however.

One of Wright’s interceptions came on a desperation Hail Mary attempt against the Bengals. The other four came off the likes of J.J. McCarthy (two), Spencer Rattler, and Mason Rudolph, three of the league’s weakest passers in 2025.

Granted, Wright deserves credit for making excellent plays on the ball across those four picks; none of them were fluky tipped balls or what have you. He showed off legitimately impressive ball skills.

However, Wright only had one interception across four NFL seasons before 2025. We haven’t seen enough production to feel confident that he can sustain anywhere close to four legitimate interceptions per year moving forward.

And even if we give Wright credit for the four quality interceptions (despite them coming off bottom-of-the-barrel passers), they were overridden by his poor performance outside of the interception department.

According to Pro Football Focus, Wright allowed seven touchdown receptions in 2025, tied for the fifth-most among cornerbacks. The Jets already had one starting corner who was a touchdown magnet in Brandon Stephens (8 TDs, tied for second-most), so they most certainly do not need another.

On top of the touchdowns, Wright coughed up 725 yards, the fifth-most among corners. At least Stephens allowed over 200 fewer yards than Wright (509). Wright was guilty of yielding a high quantity of both touchdowns and yards; he joined Mike Sainristil as the only two corners in the NFL who allowed 700+ yards and 7+ touchdowns.

Wright was also flagged eight times.

To Wright’s credit, he was a strong tackler and run defender. He finished second at the position with 14 run stops, and he also forced two fumbles.

Despite the positive flashes in ball skills and run defense, it would be extremely risky to commit starter-caliber money to a one-year-wonder veteran cornerback who was among the league’s most exploited defenders in coverage, all just because he had a blip of four interceptions off lowly quarterbacks.

Wright will be 28 this year. Besides four great interceptions in what currently stands out as an outlier age-27 season, there isn’t much on his resume that suggests he should be trusted as a highly paid starting corner.

There are smarter ways for the Jets to spend their money. Avoiding flashy yet risky players like Wright will be paramount for New York as they manage their wealth of cap space and draft picks this offseason.