Bears Could Still Pursue Tyler Linderbaum Despite Garrett Bradbury Trade

Don't assume that the Chicago Bears are done making additions to the offensive line.

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Nothing can shake up an NFL team's offseason plans more than a surprise retirement, and that's exactly what happened to the Chicago Bears last week. Drew Dalman's shocking retirement forced the Bears, who thought that they had a reliable, franchise center for the first time since Olin Kreutz, to make a hard pivot back to the offensive line ahead of free agency.

The Bears did take a swing at finding Dalman's successor on Friday evening. NFL insider Ian Rapoport first broke the news that the Bears traded for center Garrett Bradbury, sending a 2027 fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots in return. However, given Bradbury's underwhelming performance over the last three seasons, I find it hard to believe that he is general manager Ryan Poles' answer at center.

Sources: The #Patriots are trading center Garrett Bradbury to the #Bears, giving them new center. The deal can't officially be processed until the league year begins.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 6, 2026

Despite trading for Bradbury, the Bears could very well still pursue signing three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum once the legal tampering period begins at noon EST on Monday. Here's why.

2026 is a critical season for Caleb Williams' development

Let's be very clear about one thing: Caleb Williams still has a long way to go before living up to his pre-draft hype. His breakout season in 2025 was great, but it could very well be a one-off, and playing behind a leaky offensive line in Year 3 could very well turn his development back. The Bears simply cannot afford to watch Williams regress a single step in 2026.

With that in mind, an "overpay" on the offensive line must be on the table. Yes, the defense still needs substantial help, but we've watched the Bears waste many a dominant defense thanks to a subpar quarterback. That's not a road the Bears can go down again. Pour every resource you have into Williams and his supporting cast, and the ROI will come.

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The Bears can afford to 'waste' a future fifth-round pick

Signing Linderbaum in free agency would make the Bradbury trade a waste, no two ways about that. But at the end of the day, who really cares? A fifth-round pick in a future draft (2027) has almost no value. The Bears may as well have sent New England a Giordano's deep-dish pizza for Bradbury. If that were to turn into a sunk cost by a splashy free agency signing, it's a cost that the Bears should be more than willing to eat.

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Ben Johnson values a strong offensive line more than anything else

It's no coincidence that as soon as Ben Johnson arrived in Chicago, the Bears began pouring resources into the offensive line. Ryan Poles swung two trades and spend a second-round pick on the offensive line last year precisely because Johnson's offense works best when they're dominating in the trenches. Bradbury may be fine in the right system, but recent history shows that he's one of the worst starting centers in the league.

It would be out of character for Johnson to gamble the success of his offense on a reclamation project with whom he has no prior experience. Jonah Jackson was seen as something of a project last year, but that's not quite an accurate assessment. He had been playing out of position in LA, and he had familiarity with Johnson. Neither of these points apply to Bradbury.

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The Bears have plenty of salary cap space to sign Linderbaum and still pour money into the defense

The past week of roster activity should have been your reminder that the Bears' salary cap situation isn't nearly as bad as it seems. A retirement, a trade, and a release freed up around $45 million of salary cap space, and they still haven't restructured a single contract. If Ryan Poles does a simple conversion on the contracts of Montez Sweat, Cole Kmet, and Joe Thuney, he would add another $18 million in cap space, and that's all without tacking on a single void year to any of their contracts (which is typically where teams get into salary cap trouble later on). Restructure Jaylon Johnson's contract as well, and you get another $6.2 million in cap space.

The bottom line is this: Ryan Poles has many salary cap tools at his disposal, and he hasn't even truly begun to pull on any of the levers. He could clear up enough space to cover all of Linderbaum's likely signing value for 2026 with nothing more than a few restructures, and he could do it all without jeopardizing his future flexibility.

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