Given a chance to continue building around quarterback Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles started the offseason with a focus on the offensive line — and the overhaul of the interior continued when the NFL’s negotiating window opened Monday.
The Bears will have a vastly different-looking line as the refurbishing continued with an agreement on contract terms with Drew Dalman of the Atlanta Falcons, the top free-agent center.
It won’t become official until the new league year begins at 3 p.m. Wednesday, but Dalman will be the second-highest-paid center in the league with a three-year, $42 million contract. ESPN first reported the deal, which includes $28 million guaranteed.
Now the Bears have two new guards — trades to acquire Joe Thuney from the Kansas City Chiefs and Jonah Jackson from the Los Angeles Rams will be processed Wednesday — and a center, a position that has vexed Poles the last three seasons.
With a shortage of left tackles on the market and a poor draft for centers, Dalman figured to be the Bears’ No. 1 target in free agency, and they were aggressive to make it happen. In a free-agent pool that some view as weak — and that was watered down over the weekend by teams extending some of their own players — the Bears got a player coming out of his rookie contract and entering the prime years of his career.
The pocket should look significantly different for Williams, who was sacked an NFL-high 68 times as a rookie, and the overhauled interior also should aid the running game. Addressing the protection for Williams was paramount after he spent too much time scrambling last season.
Dalman, 26, was a fourth-round pick by the Falcons in 2021 out of Stanford and started 40 games over the last three seasons, missing eight last season and three in 2023 with separate ankle injuries. His father, Chris, was an offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers in the 1990s and a member of their Super Bowl XXIX championship team, so Dalman grew up around the game.
The Bears have had four Week 1 starters at center in the last five seasons — Coleman Shelton, Lucas Patrick, Sam Mustipher and Cody Whitehair — and they missed a chance to get an anchor for the line when the Pittsburgh Steelers selected West Virginia’s highly regarded Zach Frazier in the second round last year.
Issues on the line have been growing for years. The Bears are tied with the New York Giants for the most sacks allowed (270) over the last five seasons, and three of the four highest single-season sack totals in franchise history have occurred in the last four years. Some of the blame belongs on the quarterbacks, offensive design, play calling and everything else you can imagine, but the Bears have gotten out of the line what they’ve invested — subpar play.
Chances are Poles isn’t done either. Thuney, 32, is entering his 10th season. He remains one of the elite guards in the league but is a short-term fix to a long-term problem. He’s under contract for this season at $16 million, and it stands to reason the Bears will need to extend Thuney sooner rather than later.
The Bears are banking on coach Ben Johnson’s relationship with Jackson to spark a bounce-back season after a disastrous year with the Rams. Jackson, 28, is under contract for two seasons, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the Bears invested significant draft capital in a potential left tackle, another guard — or both — with right tackle Darnell Wright, Poles’ first-round pick in 2023, the only carryover with a clear role on the line beyond this season.
Getting Dalman was essential as the Bears bring in an experienced center who should help take pressure off Williams at the line of scrimmage. By making it to free agency, Dalman was able to maximize his value.
The Chiefs’ Creed Humphrey signed a four-year, $72 million extension in August that made him far and away the highest-paid center at $18 million per season. The deal included $35 million guaranteed.
With a $14 million annual average, Dalman’s contract slots behind Humphrey’s. The Detroit Lions signed Frank Ragnow to a four-year, $54 million extension ($13.5 million average) in May 2021 that had him atop the center list for some time.
Dalman’s deal eclipses the four-year, $50 million contract ($12.5 million average) Lloyd Cushenberry signed with the Tennessee Titans in free agency last March. That contract included $30 million in guarantees.
Now Poles can turn his attention to finding help for the defensive line — but his attention is unlikely to stray far from the offensive line as the offseason unfolds.
