-
Courtney Cronin
multiple authors
A busy week continues for free agency Chicago Bears.
On Friday, the Bears agreed in principle to send a 2027 fifth-round pick new England Patriots to the center garrett bradburya source told ESPN. Trades cannot be processed until the new league year begins next Wednesday.
Three days after Drew Dallman’s surprise retirement, the Bears have their new center and don’t need to break the bank to fill that void.
Bradbury, a first-round pick in 2019, spent the first six years of his career with minnesota vikings Before signing a two-year deal with New England worth up to $12 million in March 2025. The Bears will pay Bradbury $4.7 million in the final year of his contract.
He started all 17 regular season games and all four playoff games in his lone season in New England. His veteran presence helped stabilize the offensive line, making the rookie starter at left tackle. Will Campbell and left the guard Jared Wilson.
Bradbury’s 105 career starts provide stability to the Bears’ offensive line, which has lost 40% of its starters this offseason between Dallman’s retirement and the departure of left tackle. ozzy trapillo He is expected to miss most of the offseason while recovering from a knee injury.
Dallman was officially placed on the reserve/retired list on Friday while the Bears officially terminated the linebacker’s contract tremaine edmondsWho was it released on thursday. with wide receiver dj moore being traded in buffalo billChicago has created $44 million in new cap space since Tuesday.
Bradbury’s most productive seasons in the NFL came during the early years of the Vikings’ zone scheme offense in Minnesota, which featured heavy amounts of play-action and misdirection. Under Bears coach Ben Johnson, the Bears played under center 49% of the time (fifth most) in 2025 and ran play-action on dropbacks 32% of the time. Chicago boasted the sixth-highest explosive play rate (15.0%) in the NFL.
As far as New England is concerned, Wilson, a 2025 third-round pick, is a potential replacement for Bradbury. Wilson played center at the University of Georgia, but moved to left guard as part of the team’s approach of playing its best five linemen regardless of position.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss contributed to this report.
