MINNEAPOLIS — Nahshon Wright went up, all the way up, toward the heavens.

His arms outstretched, the pass from Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy landed perfectly in the Chicago Bears cornerback’s hands.

Wright, 27, felt a wave of emotion wash over him. He fell to one knee at the back of the end zone. Teammates Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard III were among the first to reach him. They each put a hand on Wright’s shoulder pads. They let him feel those emotions.

Bears defenders gather around cornerback Nahshon Wright (26) after he intercepted a Vikings pass in the end zone Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Wright’s junior college football coach, John Beam, who was featured in the Netflix documentary “Last Chance U,” died Friday after being shot a day earlier at Laney College in Oakland, Calif., where he worked.

“Today he was watching over me,” Wright said after the Bears’ 19-17 win over the Vikings. “That’s crazy. He called me the night before he passed and he told me every game he watched, I just seemed to get a pick. I just know he was behind me today. He was with me today.”

Wright and his brother Rejzohn Wright, a cornerback for the New Orleans Saints, played for Beam at Laney. Both later transferred to Oregon State before making their NFL dreams a reality.

Nahshon Wright said Beam “meant the world to me.” When their father, Jamal Wright, was shot and killed in December 2017 in San Jose, Calif., Beam stepped into a father role for the brothers.

“I’m going to take that ball back home and give it to his family because that one was for him,” Wright said.

Wright’s interception was one of two key picks for the Bears defense in the first half of Sunday’s win. Byard, the veteran safety, had the other, his fifth interception of the season.

The Bears nearly blew the game, watching a 16-3 lead slip away. Minnesota scored a touchdown in the final minute to go ahead by one point, but Devin Duvernay’s 56-yard kickoff return set up a game-winning field goal from kicker Cairo Santos as time expired.

On an emotional afternoon, with the lead seesawing in the final minutes, Wright believed Beam was there with him. Although it has been seven years since Wright played for Beam at Laney, he said they still spoke nearly every week.

When the Saints visited the Bears last month at Soldier Field — Nahshon versus Rejzohn — Beam came to Chicago. On the Saturday night before the game, the coach wanted to get his steps in, so Nahshon and Beam spent the night walking up and down the Magnificent Mile.

“We rarely talked about football,” Wright said. “We just talked about life and my plans and what I had going on.”

Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright intercepts a pass meant for Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison in the end zone Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

After the Bears wrapped up practice Thursday, Wright saw a text from a friend telling him Beam had been shot. The coach died the next day. Police arrested a 27-year-old suspect Friday.

Bears defensive backs coach Al Harris called Wright constantly to check in on him over the last couple of days. His teammates did their best to be supportive.

“He was battling this whole week,” Byard said.

“That’s not easy to come and play a game after you deal with things like that,” linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said.

The Bears made Wright their honorary team captain before Sunday’s game. Since entering the NFL as a third-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2021, Wright has been largely a backup. He had just three career starts before this season, but an injury to All-Pro cornerback Jaylon Johnson landed Wright in the starting lineup most of this season. He has appeared in all 10 games with nine starts.

Wright has three interceptions and two fumble recoveries on the year. In the season opener, also against the Vikings, he returned an interception for a touchdown.

“His numbers speak for themselves,” Edmunds said.

Wright has worked closely with Harris, who also coached him in Dallas. They shared a big hug after Wright’s interception Sunday.

Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright receives a hug on the sideline after his interception in the second quarter against the Vikings on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

“I’m super proud of him because where he started in the league — the movements, the mindset — to where he is right now is night and day,” Harris said last week. “He’s making the most of his opportunities.”

Cornerback is an unforgiving position. Corners are always in the crosshairs of the passing attack. Wright was in coverage in the final minute when McCarthy targeted wide receiver Jordan Addison in the end zone for what looked like it might be the game-winning touchdown.

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But this Bears team has been through so much over the first half of the season. They keep finding ways to win close games in the final minutes. Even after watching the Vikings celebrate in the end zone, the defenders headed to the sideline with a belief their teammates on special teams and offense would find a way.

This team has earned that belief.

“It’s knowing that somebody is going to make a play,” Edmunds said.

Josh Blackwell’s blocked field goal in Las Vegas. Colston Loveland’s game-winning touchdown in Cincinnati. Caleb Williams’ rushing heroics last week against the New York Giants. Add Duvernay’s big return to the list.

Wright’s interception wasn’t in the final minute, but it erased what could’ve been a Vikings touchdown and was a key swing just before halftime.

“I told him earlier in the week he was going to get one,” cornerback Tyrique Stevenson said.

Wright knew Beam was with him when he extended his 6-foot-4 frame and snagged the football out of the air.

“He’s been there every step of the way,” Wright said. “And it won’t stop. I gained an angel.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/16/chicago-bears-nahshon-wright-john-beam/