Chicago Bears Sign Former Stanford Center to Massive Contract

The Chicago Bears are loading up on the offensive line, and one of the names that will join the trenches for them in 2025 comes in the form of former Stanford standout, Drew Dalman. With NFL free agency beginning on Monday, teams are now allowed to start negotiating deals with unsigned players.

With a need for a new center, the Bears agreed to terms with Dalman, signing him to a three-year, $42 million contract.

Quarterback Caleb Williams showed immense promise as a rookie last season, ending the year having thrown for over 3,500 yards with 20 touchdown passes to only six interceptions. But one of the biggest issues the Bears had last season was keeping Williams upright, with the former No. 1 overall pick getting sacked a league-high 68 times in 2024, creating major cause for concern.

Acquiring former Patriots and Chiefs star, Joe Thuney, and former Rams star, Jonah Jackson, to man the guard spots, it was evident that Chicago was going all in on upgrading its line.

But the need for a new center was always a very glaring hole heading into this spring, and with Dalman available and considered the best free agent offensive lineman on the board, the Bears wasted no time and made him the NFL's second-highest paid center behind Kansas City's Creed Humphrey.

While missing eight games in 2024 with a high ankle sprain, Dalman still dominated in many aspects for the Falcons whenever he was on the field. Known for his exceptional run blocking ability, Dalman received the fourth-highest grade for his position last season and was a big reason for Bijan Robinson's breakout sophomore season.

Over the past three seasons, Dalman started 40 games for the Falcons, spending his rookie season in 2021 as a backup.

During the time that Dalman was on the field, Robinson's rushing EPA (expected points added) was at 12.7 (the highest in the NFL) while when he was out, Robinson only had a 3.7 EPA. In the pass game, Dalman only allowed 13 pressures, a 4.8% pressure rate and two sacks in the nine games he played, while not getting called for any penalties.

With the Bears hiring an offensive minded head coach in Ben Johnson, it became clear that the team was emphasizing offense as it priority, looking to become the offensive powerhouse that they hoped would come with drafting Caleb Williams.

But after only winning four games last season, the focus became giving Williams even more weapons and resources for success, with a revamped offensive line expected to give Williams more time to make big plays.

Drafted by the Falcons with the 114th overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Stanford, Dalman started 22 games for the Cardinal over three seasons, earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2020 and second-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2019.

His final season in 2020 saw him allow no pressures as Stanford's offensive line did not allow a sack all year long.

Now expected to be a big piece to the Bears offense, can Dalman lead the way in revitalizing the Chicago Bears in 2025?