A Pro Bowl-caliber center traded for a fifth-round pick. Discover why this veteran's consistent performance and cost-effectiveness are a game-changer.
The Chicago Bears decided to move quickly on a new center following the news about Drew Dalman's retirement.
Dalman announced his retirement after five seasons in the NFL. He spent the first four of those with the Atlanta Falcons. He then joined the Bears in free agency last offseason and made an immediate impact on the team.
Dalman reached the Pro Bowl in 2025 and didn't miss a single game for the Bears.
Replacing someone of Dalman's talent is never easy, but I think the Bears found their guy in Garrett Bradbury.
Chicago sent a fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots to land Bradbury. On paper, it looks like a puzzling decision, since he is 30 years old.
I firmly believe that General Manager Ryan Poles got an absolute steal with this trade.
Bradbury's NFL career started with the Minnesota Vikings in 2019. He played there until 2024, joining the Patriots in the 2025 offseason.
Bradbury was a model of consistency in New England last season. He played in all 17 regular-season games and had 1,070 snaps. He was on the field for 98% of the team's regular-season snaps.
Then, in the playoffs, he was on the field for 100% of the Patriots' snaps and didn't give up a single sack. As a whole, Bradbury also didn't commit a single penalty for the Patriots.
He also overlapped with a Bears veteran in college. Bradbury played college football at N.C. State with Joe Thuney, so there is already familiarity between the two. The two were at N.C. State for a couple of seasons together before Thuney left for the NFL after the 2015 season.
That aspect of this trade should give fans some hope since Bradbury will have some reliable guards next to him in Jonah Jackson and Thuney.
Plus, the Bears won't have to pay Bradbury as much compared to a free-agent center like Tyler Linderbaum. Linderbaum's market value is $17.7 million, via Spotrac.
Bradbury's base salary for the Bears is $3.7 million, with $2 million in additional bonuses and incentives. This saves the team a lot of money compared to what they would've spent if they had gone with another center.
Does Linderbaum have a higher ceiling than Bradbury? Absolutely.
However, the Bears still went out and found a very capable starting center for considerably less than a free-agent deal for Linderbaum would've cost them.
At the time, fans may have been upset with Poles, but this move is very cost-effective and will benefit the team in the long run.