Bears Agree To Sign Dalman As Poles Lands His Top Line Targets

Drew Dalman isn’t the best pass-blocking center in the NFL. But he is trending upward.

The Bears are hardly the best offensive line in the NFL. But with Dalman, Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson in the mix, they are very definitely trending upward.

Dalman, regarded as the top center available in free agency, agreed to a three-year, $42 million contract with the Bears on Monday, which should become official when the 2025 league year begins on Wednesday. He follows Ryan Poles’ trades for veteran guards Thuney — an All-Pro in 2023 and ’24 — and Jackson last week to complete the overhaul of the interior of a line that includes tackles Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright.

It’s a massive upgrade for a line that contributed to Caleb Williams’ NFL-high 68 sacks in his rookie season. Poles and new head coach Ben Johnson will no doubt continue looking to improve the line, through depth additions and perhaps by picking a tackle in the first two rounds of the draft, but they have addressed the sense of urgency that was revealed during a 5-12 season.

Jackson is a risk given a shoulder injury that limited him to only four games in 2024 but he received the fourth largest free agent deal when he jumped from Detroit to the Rams a year ago, with a three-year, $51-million deal. He has the endorsement of his head coach, as Johnson watched him develop into a Pro Bowl player in his second season after the Lions selected him in the third round of the 2020 draft.

Dalman, 26, was selected by Atlanta in the fourth round of the 2021 draft after four seasons at Stanford. He played only nine games last season due to an ankle injury but was a three-year starter for the Falcons, earning consistently high grades from Pro Football Focus.

PFF has ranked Dalman among the top 16 centers each year of his career, including a third overall grade in 2023 and fourth overall in ’24. He’s done a better job opening holes for Bijan Robinson than protecting a cast of quarterbacks but his pass-blocking grade shows a positive trend. He ranked 40th among 56 qualifying centers in 2022, 39th among 56 in ’23 and 21st among 64 last season.

Having invested about $47.5 million of 2025 cap space in improving the offensive line, Poles may be inclined to seek an edge rusher in the draft rather than free agency. While figures won’t be formally recalculated until Wednesday, it appears the Bears have about $21 million left below the cap (depending on how the Dalman deal is structured).

Poles appears to have landed his top target for all three of the interior line positions. That’s a nice start to the off-season.