Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman's sudden retirement leaves the Bears scrambling for offensive line solutions, creating significant cap space and draft needs.
The Chicago Bears will now have to look for a center this offseason, after Drew Dalman announced on Tuesday that he is retiring from the NFL after five seasons.
ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the news on his X account.
This news is a shock, considering what Dalman achieved in 2025. He reached the Pro Bowl for the first time in his NFL career. Availability is a great characteristic for offensive linemen, and Dalman embodied that with the Bears in the one season he played, starting and playing in all 17 regular-season games.
This means the Bears have even more needs heading into free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft. Chicago was already in a hole at left tackle after Ozzy Trapilo's injury, and now it seems the center position will need to be prioritized as well.
The left tackle suffered a season-ending patellar injury in the Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers and is expected to miss most of the 2026 season.
Dalman was one of the offseason offensive line additions that General Manager Ryan Poles made in 2025. He traded for left guard Joe Thuney from the Kansas City Chiefs and right guard Jonah Jackson from the Los Angeles Rams.
Dalman was brought in as a free agent after spending his first four seasons in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons. He entered the NFL in 2021 after playing college football for the Stanford Cardinal from 2017-2020.
The decision stemmed from the lessons that Dalman's father, Chris, learned during his time in the NFL. Chris played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1993-99 and also served as a coach at the high school, college and pro level.
Chris is currently an offensive line coach at Salinas Palma High School (2009-present) in California, but has also held assistant roles with Stanford (2007-08) and the Atlanta Falcons (2005-06).
Dalman knows firsthand the effects that football can have on someone.
The Bears center was on a three-year, $42 million contract with the organization before announcing his retirement. However, with Dalman's retirement, the franchise will forfeit his salary, freeing up $10 million in cap space. (Via Over The Cap)
This adds another need for the Bears to prioritize in what will be a critical part of the Poles era. Chicago just made the playoffs, but it will need to free up more cap space ahead of free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft.
D.J. Moore and D'Andre Swift have been linked as potential trade targets this offseason. They may not be the last cap casualties as the new league year starts on March 11.
This decision is Dalman's to make, but it's a tough one overall for the Bears, as they are now in the market for a new center.