Chicago Bears center Drew Dalman shocked the franchise and the NFL world with his retirement at just 27 years old, and now the team must find a replacement. It will not be easy, as the $47 million offensive lineman was among the best centers in the game, making the Pro Bowl last season. The Bears are now a contender, though, and they need an anchor for their offensive line. Here are the Bears' three best options for a Drew Dalman replacement after his shocking retirement.
Ryan Bates
First, let's look at the in-house option. Veteran offensive lineman Ryan Bates has played in 92 NFL games over seven seasons with the Bears and the Buffalo Bills, starting 21 of them. He is a valuable backup O-lineman as he can play all five positions along the line.
Bates is not a bad option by any means, but he is the worst and least likely of the three Drew Dalman replacement options here. Outside of Bates being a downgrade talent-wise over Dalman, starting him also means you lose a reserve lineman who can come in and take over for any player on the line. At this point in his career, that is Bates' most important skill, which is why the Bears could start him but should keep him in as the sixth/seventh OL on the depth chart.
Connor McGovern
Ryan Poles and the Bears obviously understand the value of a great center. With a young quarterback and a burgeoning run game, having that anchor in the middle of the line is crucial. That's why they gave Dalman a $14 million per-season deal, which was the highest doled out to a center last offseason.
This year, there are some quality centers on the free agent market, including one of the best centers in the league, three-time Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum. With the Bears being in the middle of the pack, salary cap-wise, this offseason, giving Linderbaum a $25 million per season deal, as it may take to sign him, probably isn't realistic. So, moving down the list, Chicago should target the second-best free-agent center, the Bills' Connor McGovern.
McGovern is 28 and has started 78 games in his six-season NFL career, including all 49 of his 49 games in Buffalo. He made the Pro Bowl in 2024 and was the ninth-ranked C in the league this season, per PFF, just two spots behind Dalman. Poles could likely give McGovern a similar contract to Dalman and get a similar player to take over.
Olaivavega Ioane or Jake Slaughter
The third option for the Bears to find a Drew Dalman replacement after his retirement is in the 2026 NFL Draft. And within this third option, there are two different paths the team could take.
Path one is to take an interior offensive lineman in the first round and make him a center. There are no Round 1 centers in this draft, but the Bears will need that level of talent if they want this player to start in place of Dalman in Week 1. The best option in this scenario is drafting Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane.
While this is an excellent option and Ioane is a heck of a prospect, there are some issues. One is that the former Nittany Lion has limited experience at center, although he does have some. Hoping he can replace a Pro Bowl player is a small leap of faith. The bigger problem, though, is that he may not get past the Los Angeles Chargers at pick No. 22. So, Poles may have to trade up four spots to get him.
Path two is to take one of the best true centers in the class on Day 2 or 3 of the draft. The overall best prospect is probably Auburn's Connor Lew, but he is coming off an ACL injury and may not be able to start right away. That brings us to Florida's Jake Slaughter, who is the best bet to be able to start right away.
Slaughter isn't a super athlete, but he tested better than expected at the combine. Plus, he is a three-year starter in the SEC and a two-year captain for the Gators who has gone head-to-head against some of the best players in college and the pros. All this means that, while you know Slaughter can play center (and he can probably do it well in the pros, he may never be anywhere near the level of the man he is trying to replace.
