Bears Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman retires at 27, much the way his father did 26 years ago

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As the Chicago Bears were rocketing toward an NFC North title and playoff run, quarterback Caleb Williams made a comment on social media about his Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman that has proven prophetic.“He’s the brains behind all of it.”Dalman informed the Bears on Tuesday that he will retire.

Now.At age 27.

After only five NFL seasons.After playing every snap in 2025, the first year of a three-year, $42 million contract.Initial reaction around the league was that the decision was bonkers.

Upon further review, however, it might be the most rational, reasoned move made this offseason.Not long ago, most NFL players — linemen, certainly — couldn’t up and quit at the peak of their earning potential because their earnings weren’t enough to ensure a lifetime of financial stability.

Instead, they did what football players do — button their chin strap and play as long as their name remained on a roster.The risk of serious injury — including concussions — was simply the price of staying in the business.

Rams The Rams are working toward finalizing a deal to acquire All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for four draft picks.Chronic traumatic encephalopathy? Early-onset dementia? Afterthoughts.Today, it doesn’t take a mechanical engineering major to recognize that the equation has changed.

Dalman, who happened to study mechanical engineering at Stanford, has yet to articulate why he is retiring.But it is safe to presume that considerations included the roughly $24 million he banked in four years with the Atlanta Falcons and one with the Bears as well as the well-chronicled list of former players whose brains or other body parts no longer function properly because of the violent nature of the sport.One of those players was Chris Dalman, an offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers from 1993-1999.

He retired at 29 after suffer...