Chicago Bears Trade for Center Garrett Bradbury from New England Patriots

The Chicago Bears have acquired center Garrett Bradbury from the New England Patriots in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round draft pick. The move comes just three days after Bears center Drew Dalman announced his retirement, leaving Chicago needing to fill the position.

Chicago Bears management wasted no time addressing their center position vacancy, securing Garrett Bradbury from the New England Patriots through a trade deal completed Friday, according to multiple league sources. The Bears will send a 2027 fifth-round draft selection to New England in return.

The deal will be finalized Wednesday when the NFL’s new league year officially begins.

Chicago made this move just three days following Drew Dalman’s retirement announcement. The Bears officially moved Dalman to their reserve/retired list on Friday.

Last season, Bradbury was a consistent starter for New England, taking the field for all 17 regular season contests plus their complete playoff run of four games, which concluded with their Super Bowl defeat to Seattle.

Under his current contract’s final year in 2026, Bradbury is set to earn $3.7 million in base salary with a total salary cap impact of $5.7 million.

The 30-year-old center began his professional career with Minnesota, where he played six seasons after the Vikings drafted him 18th overall in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft from North Carolina State. Last March, he joined New England through free agency on a two-year contract worth $9.5 million.

Throughout his NFL career, Bradbury has maintained remarkable durability, starting all 105 games he’s played and participating in no fewer than 12 games each season.

New England plans to shift left guard Jared Wilson into the center role following Bradbury’s exit. Wilson, selected in the third round of the 2025 draft from Georgia, made 13 regular season starts and appeared in all four playoff games during his first professional season.

The retired Dalman, age 27, concluded his career on a high note after earning Pro Bowl recognition in his fifth NFL campaign. Before joining Chicago, he spent four years with Atlanta, playing 57 games with 40 starts for the Falcons, then started every game for the Bears last season.