Bears center Drew Dalman, who played every single snap after signing a three-year, $42 million contract a year ago, is stepping away.
Dalman has told the Bears he is retiring, a source confirmed to the Sun-Times.
It’s a shocking move for Dalman, who is just 27 years old. He was the centerpiece, figuratively and literally, of a renewed offensive line that lifted Caleb Williams from one of the most-sacked quarterbacks of all time as a rookie to the team’s single-season passing leader. Quarterback Caleb Williams named each lineman after an “Avengers” character, and Dalman was “The Hulk” because he was smart, strong and “the right guy for the job and my future — and our future — here,” he said.
Williams took to social media Tuesday, posting a crying emoji in front of the word “Hulk.”
Dalman is the son of Chris Dalman, the former 49ers interior lineman. He and his father both attended Palma High School in Salinas, Calif., before attending Stanford. A year ago, Dalman was the prize of the center free-agent market. In his first year with the Bears, he earned his first Pro Bowl berth.
Not far from his hometown for the Pro Bowl Games, he told the Sun-Times that the Bears had more work left to do after losing to the Rams in the playoffs.
“You have a little bit of satisfaction in that you took a step in the right direction and you’re building things the right way,” he said. “You have evidence that the process works, so that’s encouraging. But results-wise, you’re not walking around super happy about having lost.”
Now the Bears have to find a new starting center, likely via free agency. Former Raven Tyler Linderbaum is considered the top center available, while Tyler Biadasz started 31 games the past two years as a member of the Commanders.
Asked about Linderbaum last week at the NFL Scouting Combine, Ravens GM Eric DeCosta said the team “made him a market-setting offer” and hope to reach a deal before the start of the league year next week.