The Chicago Bears were thought of for being in the running for multiple different centers after Drew Dalman stunned fans with the retirement news, but his replacement has finally been named. It's not a name any fan was thinking of.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Bears made a trade with the New England Patriots for center Garrett Bradbury. The Athletic's Dianna Russini added that Chicago sent over a fifth-round pick to New England to acquire Bradbury.
Trade! The Chicago Bears are trading for Patriots center Garrett Bradbury, per sources. New England receives a fifth-round pick in return.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 6, 2026
Chicago, who lost Drew Dalman to retirement earlier this week, picks up a veteran with NFC North experience. pic.twitter.com/9Xbl2cEZJF
Before helping the Patriots to the Super Bowl, Bradbury started all 17 games for New England last season. He had previously been with the Minnesota Vikings for six seasons as their former first round pick.
Bears acquire Garrett Bradbury from the Patriots
This is quite a change of pace for the Bears, as they went in a completely different direction than fans expected. Baltimore Ravens free agent center Tyler Linderbaum was mentioned as a candidate the Bears should target in free agency.
Bradbury did not have the best season last year with the Patriots despite having started in every game for them. Pro Football Focus gave him a grade of 60.1, ranking 30th out of 40 centers in the NFL.
It now leaves open some questions about what the Bears do moving forward, as they at least have their starting center of the future, but it feels like a downgrade from Dalman. Chicago might have left the door open to draft a center in April to be the eventual replacement for Bradbury.
The Bears might be able to create salary cap space by signing a lower-cost player like Bradbury to pursue an elite player like Maxx Crosby. Even if ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter has essentially shut down the idea of Crosby to the Bears, they might still be able to make an appealing offer to make it happen.
Read more: Bears just lost their best Drew Dalman replacement before free agency starts
This was not the result that the Bears wanted at center, but at least they have a reliable starter for the time being and can get back to focusing on getting an edge rusher.