YESTERDAY, for the first time in about three weeks, we didn’t think about the Chicago Bears’ Indiana fiasco.
On Tuesday afternoon, in a bombshell announcement that will have a franchise-altering domino effect on the Bears’ upcoming draft and free agent plans, NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that the Midway Monster’s 27-year-old All-Pro center Drew Dalman is calling it a career:
We’ve yet to hear why Dalman is shutting it down, but the general theory is that it’s an injury thing. If that is indeed the case, bully for Dalman for prioritizing his health over a mere game, a choice for which Garrett Webster — son of Mike Webster, the Hall of Fame center who tragically passed away due to CTE — gave Dalman some roses:
Generally speaking, Bears beat writers offered plenty of respect for Dalman’s choice, but, being beat writers, they had to blend their sympathy with reality:
Just when it felt like coach Ben Johnson’s team — and, in particular, his offense — had momentum and continuity propelling it forward in 2026, here came the first jarring development of the year, news that center Drew Dalman was hanging his helmet and shoulder pads up for good, informing the team, as multiple league sources confirmed to The Athletic, of his plans to retire.
Now? Dalman has expressed his desire to move on, not just from the Bears but from football altogether, a stunning development that, for the Bears, instantly intensified the already hectic game of Whack-A-Mole they must participate in over the next seven weeks as they use free agency and the draft to keep their roster championship-ready.
Dalman’s retirement was so surprising that multiple national outlets spent significant time discussing the move:
And Dalman was a center. Imagine if Caleb Williams shut it down; every major network would’ve cancelled their afternoon programming to discuss.
Dalman had a fantastic 2025, and will be difficult to replace without either breaking the bank — Ravens free agent center Tyler Linderbaum, who would actually be an upgrade, will likely cost a team somewhere in the neighborhood of a cap-killing $25 million — or flipping the script on Draft Day, where, rather than shore up a defensive line in serious need of shoring up, they’ll need to spend a Day 2 pick on a prospect like Auburn’s Connor Lew.
How this will impact a potential Maxx Crosby trade is a whole other case of enchiladas.
Bears Nation took to the Twitters to express their sympathy for Dalman, as well as some thoughts about the team’s immediate future:
But social media is social media, so naturally, a scootch of vitriol was spewed, most notably from this rando dude name Jake who, a mere hour after the news broke, channeled his inner douchebag for all the world to see.
Fortunately, the vast majority of both Chicago Bears and NFL fans aren’t at all Jake-like and offered much love for a young man who took measures to ensure he lives a long, happy life.