Bears don't need to hit the panic button after Drew Dalman exit

Center Drew Dalman's sudden retirement at 27 on Tuesday shook the Bears' world and added one more hole to fill in an already busy offseason for general manager Ryan Poles. But it's way down on my list of Bears' offseason needs, behind anything on defense (edge rusher, tackle, linebacker, safety) and for one reason: Ben Johnson.

Situations like this are why you hired Johnson. For years Bears fans have envied teams like the Packers, Rams and 49ers, among others, for their ability to sustain success despite losing key pieces of their offense. Now the Bears have their Matt LaFleur, Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan. Neither Johnson nor Caleb Williams is a finished product, but the Bears finally have the head coach/quarterback duo in place that gives an offense a lot of room to fill holes.

The Bears don't need to splurge on Tyler Linderbaum to replace Dalman. They need a quality center who fits Johnson's scheme, which widens the pool considerably. In Detroit, the Lions lost guard Evan Brown in free agency in 2023 and signed Graham Glasgow and their offense didn't miss a beat. The following year they lost Jonah Jackson and signed Kevin Zeitler — same result. The next year — without Johnson — the Lions lost center Frank Ragnow (and Zeitler) and struggled most of the season filling that hole, even with a proven veteran in Glasgow (who was released Wednesday). Funny how that works.

In four seasons as an NFL offensive coordinator/head coach, Johnson already has a history of maximizing offensive talent (which makes DJ Moore's drop from No. 1 target to No. 4 that much more of a red flag, but that's another story). Even running back D'Andre Swift, who fell out of favor in Johnson's offense (amid injuries) with the Lions in 2022 and was traded after that season, had his best NFL season (86.7 yards from scrimmage per game, 10 total touchdowns) the second time around in Johnson's offense with the Bears in 2025. That's impressive.

Dalman, for what it's worth, was a solid NFL center, but not a Pro Bowl center until he played in Johnson's offense. At least on offense, the skepticism of the past has been replaced by trust. The Bears could re-sign Ryan Bates and plug him in at center and I'd give Johnson the benefit of the doubt. The Bears figure to have better options than that, but don't have to splurge in free agency or the trade market to fill the hole.

That's the beauty of having a Johnson-coordinated offense. Being able to plug a hole on offense allows you to splurge on a Maxx Crosby on defense (hmmm ...) — a luxury Ryan Pace did not have when he broke the bank for Khali Mack in 2018. (To Pace's credit, he found David Montgomery in the third round in 2019, but losing two first-round picks in the Mack trade cost him the opportunity to draft Josh Jacobs in 2019 and Justin Jefferson in 2020.)

And Johnson, whose offense is founded in the run game, clearly has his hands on the offensive line. The Bears' issues at left tackle to start the 2025 season could have been a huge drag on a first-year offense. Braxton Jones won the job by default after second-round draft pick Ozzy Trapilo failed to beat him out in training game, then lost the job to 2024 undrafted free agent Theo Benedet. But somehow it worked out. In Benedet's seven starts, the Bears were 6-1 and led the NFL in rushing (161.6 yards per game) and were sixth in fewest sacks allowed (10). When he was injured, Trapilo replaced him and did the job the Bears hoped he would do at the start.

So in one season in Johnson's offense, Trapilo went from a minus acquisition to a plus acquisition. In fact, every offensive player the Bears acquired for a starting or rotation role in the offseason was a plus addition. Here's how I ranked all 10 of Poles' key offseason acquisitions after the 2025 season:

1. Joe Thuney, LG

2. Drew Dalman, C

3. Colston Loveland, TE

4. Jonah Jackson, RG

5. Luther Burden, WR

6. Kyle Monangai, RB

7. Ozzy Trapilo, OT

8. Grady Jarrett, DT

9. Dayo Odeyingbo, DE

10. Shemar Turner, DT

The seven players who made overall positive contributions were all on offense. The three who were neutral (Jarrett) or negative were on defense. (Odeyingbo and Turner had injury issues that factor into this equation, but both players underperformed when they played.) That's not a coincidence. That's the Ben Johnson Effect. That's why the Bears stillhave a bigger issue at defensive end or tackle — or safety and linebacker, for that matter — than they do at center heading into the start of the 2026 NFL calendar year.

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