Drew Dalman's Impact at Stanford

The NFL world is in shock. Already an eventful offseason, things got a little bit spicier in the football world on Tuesday morning, when former Stanford football star and Chicago Bears center, Drew Dalman, announced his sudden retirement after only five seasons at the age of 27.

Coming off of his best season as a pro and earning Pro Bowl honors after the Bears made him among the league's highest paid centers, Dalman walking away was not on the bingo card for this offseason.

But Dalman's football career is one to be celebrated, with the Salinas, California native accomplishing a lot in the years that he took the field. And his impact on Stanford football is one that will be remembered forever.

Dalman's impact at Stanford

Playing at Stanford from 2017-20, Dalman was a major force on the offensive line, starting 22 games over the course of his career, including 20 at center and two at guard.

A three-star recruit coming out of high school with offers from several prominent programs such as Arizona, Colorado, Michigan and Washington in addition to his offer from Stanford, Dalman opted to stay closer to home and committed to the Cardinal and former head coach, David Shaw.

Not making an appearance as a true freshman in 2017 before being used as a depth piece in his sophomore season in 2018, Dalman started in all 12 games at center in 2019, earning Second-team All-Pac-12 honors for his breakout campaign.

In his final season in 2020, Dalman was named a team captain, and was a driving force behind the Cardinal offensive line not allowing a single sack or quarterback pressure during the COVID-19 shortened six-game season.

Just like every other Stanford student-athlete, Dalman excelled in the classroom. Majoring in mechanical engineering and maintaining career GPA of 3.6, Dalman earned multiple academic awards in his career, including being on the Pac-12 All-Academic first team in 2018, the Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Roll in 2019, and being an academic All-American, among others.

After his career at Stanford, Dalman entered the 2021 NFL Draft as a highly touted prospect and was drafted in the fourth round by the Atlanta Falcons, where he spent the first four seasons of his career before signing a three-year, $42 million contract with the Bears last offseason.

Allowing only one sack and 21 pressures in the '25 season, Dalman earned a spot on the Pro Bowl roster, which ended up being his first and only career selection.

But Dalman is not the only center to retire in the prime of their career, especially in recent years. Over the past few offseasons, the NFL has seen star centers such as David Andrews, Bradley Bozeman and Connor Williams retire at a fairly young age for their position. Andrews retired ahead of his age 33 season while Bozeman retired at age 31 on Feb. 23 of this year.

Williams, a fifth round draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2018, retired at the age of 27 in the middle of the '24 season while with the Seattle Seahawks. Another star center who retired before 30 was former Dallas Cowboys superstar, Travis Frederick, who retired after the 2019 season at the age of 28 due to injuries.

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