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Report: Chicago Bears Pro Bowl Center Drew Dalman Is Retiring

On Tuesday afternoon, Adam Schefter broke the news that Chicago Bears’ Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman informed the team that he was retiring before the 2026 season after only a single year in Chicago, despite having two years remaining on his contract.

ESPN sources: Bears Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman has informed the team that he is retiring from the NFL at age 27. Dalman left Stanford in 2021, and after four seasons in Atlanta and one in Chicago, he has made the sudden and surprising decision to retire. pic.twitter.com/SKJcXa1res
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 3, 2026

After years of struggling to build a complete offensive line, 2025 finally saw the Chicago Bears with multiple highly capable starters. For the first time in a long time, there was a complete unit with a mixture of veterans and young talent (Dalman, perennial All-Pro Joe Thuney, and rising Darnell Wright among them). It looked as if those problems were finally behind the Bears. However, with left tackle Ozzy Trapilo recovering from a serious injury, the retirement of Dalman means that Chicago now has two empty spots to fill on the line, and they will need to do so with fewer and fewer resources.

Update: Albert Breer reported this shortly after the news broke, “The Bears have sniffed around Tyler Linderbaum and now that makes sense.” Linderman is the top center on the market and a three-time Pro Bowler.

Update: Ian Rapoport reported that the Bears are hosting free agent center Tyler Biadasz on a visit. The Washington Commanders released him, so he can sign with a team before free agency.

Update: The Bears will save $10 million in cap space this season with Dalman’s retirement.

According to OverTheCap, the cap implications for Drew Dalman are as follows:

-$10M saved in cap space.
-$4M dead
– the remaining $4M of his $6M prorated signing bonus can & likely will be “clawed back” & return as a $4M cap credit for 2027.
– #Bears retain his rights. pic.twitter.com/eCoEhOKm0z
— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) March 3, 2026

This is a developing story, but there will be implications for free agency and the draft to consider. Check back for updates.

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Report: Chicago Bears Pro Bowl Center Drew Dalman Is Retiring

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