Bears center Drew Dalman, who played every single snap after signing a three-year, $42 million contract a year ago, told the Bears he is retiring, sources confirmed to the Sun-Times on Tuesday.
It’s a shocking move for Dalman, who is just 27 years old. He was the centerpiece, figuratively and literally, of a renewed offensive line that lifted Caleb Williams from one of the most-sacked quarterbacks of all time as a rookie to the team’s single-season passing leader.
Williams named each lineman after an “Avengers” character, and Dalman was “The Hulk” because he was smart, strong and “the right guy for the job and my future — and our future — here,” the quarterback said in December.
Williams took to social media Tuesday, posting a crying emoji in front of the word “Hulk.”
A year ago, Dalman was the prize of the center free-agent market. In his first year with the Bears, he earned his first Pro Bowl berth. At the Pro Bowl Games in San Francisco last month, he told the Sun-Times the Bears had more work left to do after losing to the Rams in the playoffs.
“You have a little bit of satisfaction in that you took a step in the right direction and you’re building things the right way,” he said. “You have evidence that the process works, so that’s encouraging. But results-wise, you’re not walking around super happy about having lost.”
Dalman is familiar with the toll a long NFL career takes. He’s the son of Chris Dalman, who played 105 games in seven years with the 49ers. He and his father both attended Palma High School in Salinas, Calif., before attending Stanford. The younger Dalman was a mechanical engineering major and a Pac-12 academic honor roll member.
Dalman was slated to count $14 million against this year’s salary cap. Once Dalman files retirement paperwork, the Bears will be on the hook for a $4 million dead cap charge in 2026, which is the prorated amount of his signing bonus. The Bears could also, if they choose, try to recoup money from previous bonuses in future years. They will retain his rights while he’s on the retirement list.
The Bears thought they had closed their revolving door at the position when they signed Dalman a year ago. Since cutting Roberto Garza in April 2015, the Bears had used seven different Week 1 starting centers. Only two players, Cody Whitehair and Sam Mustipher, started more than one opener. Dalman won’t be the third.
The closest thing the Bears have to a starting free agent center on their roster is Luke Newman, who played nine games, starting none, as a rookie guard last year.
The $10 million the Bears save against this year’s cap will undoubtedly go toward finding Dalman’s replacement. The draft and free agent class for centers is strong. The Ravens’ Tyler Linderbaum will become a free agent next week and is considered the top center available, though he could be too expensive for a Bears team with little financial wiggle room. Spotrac.com projects his market value as a four-year, $70.9 million contract.
Asked about Linderbaum last week at the NFL Scouting Combine, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said the team “made him a market-setting offer” and hope to reach a deal before the start of the league year next week.
The Bears spoke to the agents of veteran centers at the Combine. The Commanders officially cut Tyler Biadasz on Tuesday afternoon, the same day NFL Network reported he was set to visit Halas Hall. He’s started 84 games in six years, the first four with the Cowboys and the last two with the Commanders.Other available centers include Graham Glasgow, who played for Bears coach Ben Johnson in Detroit, and Connor McGovern, the former Bill.
Linderbaum was Pro Football Focus’ fifth-ranked center in 2025, while McGovern was tied for 10th. Dalman was eighth.
Bears center Drew Dalman chats with quarterback Caleb Williams as they warm up before the Bears take on the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025.
