Trade rumors have already begun swirling about one of the Chicago Bears‘ newest veteran starters in the aftermath of last month’s 2026 NFL draft.
The Bears were met with the unexpected challenge of having to replace starting center Drew Dalman — a 2025 Pro Bowler — in their 2026 lineup when he informed the team earlier in the offseason that he had decided to retire from the NFL at the age of 27.
The Bears attacked the problem on two fronts. Rather than chase Tyler Linderbaum (who signed for $27 million per season) on the free-agent market, they traded a 2027 fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots for veteran starter Garrett Bradbury.
About six weeks later, they also invested a second-round pick (No. 57 overall) in Iowa’s Logan Jones with hopes that he might develop into a long-term answer at the position.
The Athletic’s Mike Sando believes the Bears’ newfound wealth at center could appeal to the team that lost Linderbaum, the Baltimore Ravens, on the trade market, though.
“Garrett Bradbury, acquired by Chicago from New England this offseason, would be a logical trade target if the Bears like what they see from Jones, the center they drafted in the second round,” Sando wrote May 1. “Bradbury played at NC State when current Ravens offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford coached the position for the Wolfpack.”
Garrett Bradbury Likely Too Valuable for Bears to Trade
There is no doubt that the complexion of the Bears’ center room changed when they invested in Jones in the second round and made him the first center drafted in 2026.
Jones is an ideal fit for the Bears’ zone-heavy blocking scheme under head coach Ben Johnson, possessing the physical traits and polished technique required to make a living as a run-blocker and pass protector for their offense. He also wowed Johnson and the Bears with his high intelligence throughout the pre-draft process this spring.
While Jones could push Bradbury for the Week 1 starting center job, though, the Bears have little reason to rush their newly acquired center out the door before the season.
The Bears clearly believe Jones can become their guy at center, but they won’t know for certain how quickly he will adjust or if he will reach an acceptable level of play until he starts taking his first NFL snaps. In the meantime, Bradbury — who has played 6,828 career offensive snaps — offers them a quality bridge starter or, at worst, great depth.
He also costs just $5.7 million against the salary cap in 2026; though, the Bears could save all of that money by trading Bradbury before the start of the regular season.
“Baltimore is going to let everybody who can snap the ball try,” an NFL exec told Sando. “That would not be a bad trade [for the Ravens]. If I’m Chicago, I would not trade him until I know what I have with Logan Jones and know he is the guy.”
Bears Already Blocked Ravens’ Efforts to Get a Center
Rumors aside, the Bears seem unlikely to entertain any trade offers for Bradbury for at least another few months while they evaluate the state of their 2026 offensive line.
If the Ravens and Bears did eventually work out a trade for Bradbury, though, it would be poetic after Chicago inadvertently interfered in Baltimore’s center plans in the draft.
In his April 29 appearance on The Ravens Lounge podcast, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta revealed that his front office had been eyeing two center prospects — Jones and Florida’s Jake Slaughter — as targets for them on Day 2 of the draft. He even admitted that he was preparing to potentially trade up in the third round to get one of them, before the Bears and Los Angeles Chargers plucked them away in Round 2.
“We thought both those guys were really, really outstanding players that could really help us — you know, almost immediately come in and help us,” DeCosta said near the 50-minute mark. “I was sort of prepared to think about potentially going from 80 [overall] up a little bit in the third to get one of those guys if they were there.”
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