Jaylen Wright signs four-year rookie contract with Miami Dolphins
Former Tennessee Football running back Jaylen Wright has signed his rookie contract with the Miami Dolphins. The four-year deal is worth $4.78 million according to Spotrac, carrying an average salary of $1.195 million and including a $760,020 signing bonus.
Wright will have a $985,005 cap hit as a rookie this season, escalating to $1.15 million in 2025, $1.265 million in 2026 and $1.38 million in 2027. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent before the 2028 season.
Miami picked Wright at No. 120 overall in the NFL Draft in April, selecting him in the fourth round after trading a 2025 third-round pick to move up and get him.
Jaylen Wright last season: 137 attempts, 1,013 yards, 7.4 yards per carry
Over the last three seasons at Tennessee, Wright totaled 2,297 yards and 18 touchdowns on 368 attempts. He had 409 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman in 2021 and 875 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2022. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry in 2021 and 6.0 yards per carry in 2022.
He had a breakout junior season, carrying 137 times for 1,013 yards and had four touchdowns, averaging 7.4 yards per carry. He became just the 19th Tennessee running back to go over 1,000 yards in a season and did it in fewer carries than any other back before him.
ESPN ranked Wright as the 69th-best pick in the NFL Draft according to ESPN analyst Matt Miller, who ranked his top 100 picks from the draft.
“Miami selecting one of the fastest running backs in the class should surprise no one,” Miller wrote of Wright and his fit in Miami. “Wright will pair with 2023 third-rounder De’Von Achane to be the team’s future in the backfield with Raheem Mostert recently turning 32 years old.”
Jaylen Wright could be a ‘diamond in the rough’ draft pick for Miami
Wright is joining a Dolphins offense that last season finished sixth in total rushing (2,308 yards), led the league in yards per carry (5.1) and tied for the league lead in rushing touchdowns (27).
Mostert carried 209 times for 1,012 yards and 18 touchdowns last season. Achane, who the Dolphins took in the third round last year, had 800 yards and eight touchdowns on 103 carries, averaging 103 yards per carry.
NFL Network’s Peter Schrager in May described Wright as a player who could be the steal of the draft. During an appearance on Pardon My Take, Schragrer described Wright as his “diamond in the rough” leaving the draft.
“Depth chart be damned,” Schrager said. “There will be plays where Jaylen Wright … has an 80-yard scamper or does something crazy. The way they do their offense, all those running backs will touch the ball. Jaylen Wright, fourth-round pick, Dolphins, that’s my diamond in the rough.”
