The day the Bears officially put center Drew Dalman on the reserve/retired list, they agreed to trade for someone to take his place.
The price was right — the Bears are sending just a fifth-round pick in the 2027 draft for the Patriots’ Garrett Bradbury, sources confirmed to the Sun-Times on Friday night. The trade can’t be made official until the start of the league year Wednesday.
Bradbury started all 17 games for the AFC champions last year after serving as the Vikings’ starting center for his first six seasons.
He worked alongside Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who narrowly lost the NFL MVP vote to the Rams’ Matthew Stafford. Maye, who was drafted two spots after the Bears took Caleb Williams, made a monumental leap in his second season, leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl.
Bradbury has an established friendship with one of the Bears’ most respected players — he and left guard Joe Thuney were teammates on the road when they both attended N.C. State.
His salary is reasonable, too. Bradbury, who turns 31 in June, is entering the second year of a two-year, $9.6 million contract he signed with the Patriots a year ago. He commands a $5.7 million salary cap hit this year.
His signing solves an immediate need after Dalman decided earlier this week to retire. It doesn’t necessarily preclude the Bears from looking at center in the draft; the best players at that position figure to go off the board in the third and fourth round.
Bradbury was the Vikings’ first round pick, No. 18 overall, in 2019. He’s one of the league’s smallest centers, but, like Dalman, his agility is a good match for Ben Johnson’s system.
Trading for Bradbury comes at a more modest price than paying the top available center on the market. The Ravens’ Tyler Linderbaum is projected to command a contract in the four-year, $70 million range in free agency, according to Spotrac.com.
The Bears’ newfound cap flexibility — the team saved about $44 million after Dalman’s retirement, their trade of receiver DJ Moore and the release of linebacker Tremaine Edmunds — can go toward other positions of need such as defensive line, linebacker and safety. The Bears want to re-sign Pro Bowl safety Kevin Byard in the next week or so.
He and Bears quarterback Caleb Williams share a mutual admiration.
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The move was expected after they gave him permission to seek a trade last week.
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Patrick Finley and Jason Lieser examine the trade of DJ Moore to the Bills and what it means for the Bears’ offseason plans.
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