The Chicago Bears reached an agreement with Center Drew Dalman on a three-year, $42 million deal with the first two years guaranteed. Dalman, 26, became the second-highest-paid center in the NFL. He comes over from Atlanta where he was the starting center for the Falcons for three seasons. Dalman is slated to become the new center for the Chicago Bears and replace Coleman Shelton, who the Bears brought in last season from the Los Angeles Rams.
The move to add Dalman is the third significant move made by GM Ryan Poles on the Chicago Bears offensive line this offseason. Last week, Poles made a pair of trades for veteran linemen Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. The interior of the offensive line is now set for 2025, improving the outlook of the offense for first-year head coach Ben Johnson and second-year quarterback Caleb Williams.
Drew Dalman Signs With Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears made a pair of free-agent acquisitions on Monday, helping the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football. They signed Defensive Tackle Grady Jarrett to a deal to help Dennis Allen’s defense and then added Dalman to help Ben Johnson’s offense. Dalman had been linked to the Chicago Bears for weeks, yet the speculation was muddied with the news last week of the trades made for Thuney and Jackson. The acquisitions didn’t stop Poles from being aggressive and following through to Dalman to the offensive line.
Dalman agreed to a three-year, $42 million deal with the first two years guaranteed at $28 million. Dalman, the 26-year-old center previously of the Atlanta Falcons, became the second-highest center in the NFL behind Kansas City Chiefs Center Creed Humphrey. The Atlanta Falcons were unable to retain Dalman due to the financial restrictions brought about by their cap situation. Dalman had been their starting center for three seasons but was injured for a large portion of 2024. Dalman was a fourth-round pick in 2021 and after being a backup in his rookie season, jumped into the starting role starting in 2022.
With the Chicago Bears, Dalman is set to replace Shelton and join fellow newly-acquired interior linemen Thuney and Jackson on this new-look offensive line. In the first season under Johnson, Poles is committing plenty of resources to help the offense and protect second-year Quarterback Caleb Williams.
Final Thoughts
This is shaping up to be a great offseason for the Chicago Bears. After trading lower-round draft picks last week to solidify the guard spots on this offensive line, Poles didn’t take his foot off the accelerator with his commitment to the line of scrimmage. Dalman is likely going to be the highest-paid offensive lineman of the offseason and for the Chicago Bears to be the team to win his services is surprising and encouraging.
The Chicago Bears had been connected to Dalman throughout the offseason and it was unclear if Poles was going to follow through on bringing him in after the pair of moves last week. I am ecstatic that the front office is showing this kind of commitment to Johnson, the 2025 season, and the line of scrimmage. I am not worried about making Dalman the second-highest-paid center in the NFL. With the improvements on the offensive line, the performance and responsibilities of each lineman become more manageable, so if Dalman can become a step up over Shelton, this will be a worthwhile move by Poles.
Looking ahead, this move clears up a bunch in terms of what the Chicago Bears need to focus on for the rest of the offseason. They have plenty of offensive linemen who have been on the roster and can be easily retained, although Teven Jenkins may receive a better deal elsewhere.
The offensive line and the offense in general are in good shape following the moves made over the last two weeks. From this point on, Poles and the front office can take the rest of their resources in free agency and the NFL Draft to address the defense. Helping Allen’s defense, like they have helped Ben Johnson’s offense, can make the Chicago Bears a threat in 2025.