Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November
Sitting in 1st-place in the NFC standings isn't the only feel-good story for the Bears, as cornerback Nahshon Wright was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Month.
It was a bittersweet November for Wright, with the murder of his beloved junior college coach. Despite that tragedy, he triumphed on the field, with three interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries. He now leads the league in takeaways with eight on the season.
The 5th year cornerback had just one career interception heading into this season. Wright said his original goal when he signed with the Bears was just to make the roster.
"It means a lot just to be recognized around the league. It definitely means a lot coming from the journey that I've had," he said.
Wright is the first Bears player since at least 1970 to have a takeaway in five straight games. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen applauded how he's stepped up with the Bears' secondary decimated by injuries.
"He's been huge for us. Again, he's a guy that really kind of had to step up in the absence of a couple other guys, and he's stepped up in a big way for us. He continues to find his way around the football," Allen said.
Wright gives a lot of credit to Bears defensive backs coach Al Harris, who believed in him going back to their time together in Dallas in from 2021 to 2023.
"He literally came up to me, and was just like, 'When you get your opportunity, just take advantage of it.' And the other day we kind of talked about it, and it's just crazy to think about that we had that walk, what two, three years ago, and now it's kind of happening. I got my opportunity, and I'm playing well," he said.
Allen said he saw in training camp a guy with talent and intelligence who's willing to work. Those guys usually get better, and that's exactly what Wright has done.
Wide receiver DJ Moore also received a prestigious accolade on Thursday, winning the Bears' Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which recognizes players who excel both on the field and while making a positive impact in the community. The veteran receiver is very active through his Moore2Life Foundation. Getting an honor named after a Bears legend is pure sweetness.
A year ago, Moore had a touchdown in the season-ending win against the Packers at Lambeau Field to snap an ugly 10-game winning streak. With their first matchup against Green Bay on Sunday afternoon, Moore said he much more prefers playing the Packers in December than in January to maintain the Bears' NFC North supremacy heading into the stretch run for the playoffs.
Injury-wise, linebacker TJ Edwards looks like he's getting closer to returning from injury. Edwards practiced in a limited fashion for the second time this week. Running back Kyle Monangai was also back as limited in practice after being listed not practicing on Wednesday. Wide receiver Rome Odunze, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, and linebacker Ruben Hyppolite all missed practice on Thursday.