Three days after news surfaced that Chicago Bears Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman was retiring, the team found its replacement, working a trade with the New England Patriots to acquire veteran Garrett Bradbury for a 2027 fifth-round pick, league sources told The Athletic.

Bradbury, 30, is coming off a solid first season with the Patriots and immediately registers as the likely starter in front of Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.

Bradbury has drawn praise over the years for his intelligence and ability as a run blocker. Much like Dalman did for Williams in 2025, Bradbury should be able to provide significant help at the line of scrimmage, taking a mental load off his quarterback with pre-snap responsibilities.

A first-round pick by the Vikings in 2019, Bradbury spent his first six seasons in Minnesota but was released last spring. He quickly signed on in New England and wound up starting all 21 games last season, including the playoffs, as the Patriots made their run to the Super Bowl.

Bradbury, who played his college ball at NC State, has long been regarded as a solid locker-room guy who should blend in well between Bears guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. He and Thuney overlapped at NC State for two seasons. He also registers as a solid fit for the culture coach Ben Johnson hopes to continue building.

While ambitious fans in Chicago may have held out hope for a bigger splash at the position — read: signing of Ravens All-Pro Tyler Linderbaum — the Bears went in a different direction, uniting with a less accomplished lineman and betting on Bradbury’s experience. He has 105 career regular-season starts and will arrive at Halas Hall in the final year of his current contract, which carries a $3.7 million base salary for next season.

The Bears gained more than $41 million in salary-cap space this week with Dalman’s retirement, the Thursday trade of receiver DJ Moore and the release of linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.

But the team also has more than three dozen roster spots to fill as the new league year approaches. Even with Bradbury’s arrival, the Bears still likely have five starting jobs that aren’t yet solidified, including an opening at left tackle and a need on defense for two starting safeties. General manager Ryan Poles will have to remain active in advance of next month’s draft to continue solidifying the roster from top to bottom.

Why the Patriots made this deal

This deal more clearly defines the Patriots’ plan to revamp the offensive line and paves the way for Jared Wilson, a third-round pick last year, to slide from left guard, which he played last season, to his more natural position of center, which he played in college at Georgia.

The Patriots were pleased with what Bradbury provided in his lone season in New England, but after Wilson struggled in the playoffs as a rookie, they needed to find a way to get him back to center and upgrade at left guard.

The Pats aren’t expected to be major players for a top-of-the-market left guard in free agency, but it is a position they plan to target when the league-wide negotiating period begins Monday.

So there’s a good chance that the Patriots return four of their five offensive line starters next season, with a new left guard joining Will Campbell, Wilson, Mike Onwenu and Morgan Moses. — Chad Graff, Patriots beat writer