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Chicago Bears reportedly trade for center Garrett Bradbury from New England Patriots

New England Patriots center Garrett Bradbury talks to the media during a news conference Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif., ahead of the Super Bowl 60 NFL football game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

New England Patriots center Garrett Bradbury talks to the media during a news conference last month in Santa Clara, California ahead of the Super Bowl 60 NFL football game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

By Michal Dwojak

The Chicago Bears likely won’t be searching for a new center once free agency starts next week. Chicago reportedly acquired Garrett Bradbury in a trade with the New England Patriots.

The Bears will send a 2027 fifth-round pick in exchange for Bradbury. The trade won’t officially be processed until the new league starts Wednesday. The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was first to report the move.

Bradbury spent one season with the Patriots last year after they signed him to a two-year, $12 million contract. He played in every game last season in New England’s journey to the Super Bowl.

Bradbury did well as a pass-blocker for the Patriots last season. He allowed two sacks last season, along with 29 quarterback pressures. Bradbury ranked 29th according to Pro Football Focus with a 64.1 pass-blocking grade and 49th with a 55.9 run-blocking grade.

The Minnesota Vikings drafted Bradbury No. 18 overall in the 2019 draft out of North Carolina State. Bradbury played in 89 games over six seasons with the Vikings, starting every game.

Chicago was forced to trade for Bradbury after Drew Dalman suddenly retired this week.

Dalman decided to step away from the game at the age of 27 after one season with the Bears, where he earned his first Pro Bowl honor with Chicago. The team officially placed Dalman on the retired/reserved list.

The move likely means that Bears general manager Ryan Poles won’t use his salary cap space by signing one of the top free agent centers next week. There was some belief that Chicago could target Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum, who was expected to become the highest-paid center in NFL history.

But Poles could shift his attention to looking for the center of the future in the draft in April. That would allow the Bears to draft a center and not force him to start the season if he wasn’t ready.

Iowa’s Logan Jones, Auburn’s Connor Lew, Florida’s Jake Slaughter and Kansas State’s Sam Hecht are some of the top-ranked center prospects in this year’s draft.

The Bears also have Luke Newman on the roster. They drafted him in the sixth round last year and he earned some snaps at center during training camp.

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Michal Dwojak

Michal Dwojak

Michal covers the Chicago Bears for Shaw Local and also serves as the company's sports enterprise reporter. He previously covered the CCL/ESCC for Friday Night Drive and other prep sports for the Northwest Herald. Michal previously served as the sports editor for the Glenview Lantern, Northbook Tower and Malibu Surfside News.