Just like the rest of the NFL world, Atlanta Falcons fans were stunned when ex-Falcons center Drew Dalman announced his retirement yesterday. He was fresh off of his first Pro Bowl season with the Chicago Bears and was the linchpin of their much-improved offensive line, which helped them to win the NFC North for the first time since 2018.
It's even sadder because Dalman was only 27, so he very well could've had an insanely bright (and long) NFL future ahead of him. But his retirement also confirmed that the Falcons caught a massive break last offseason, because this easily could've been them picking up the wake of his retirement.
Instead, after four seasons in Atlanta, he signed a three-year, $42.5 deal with the Bears last offseason, which prompted the Dirty Birds to replace him with backup center Ryan Neuzil, who was arguably more productive than him at a fraction of the price, so extending him is now a priority.
There was briefly talk that the Falcons could consider making a run at Tyler Linderbaum in free agency to replace Neuzil, but that feels incredibly unlikely now. Not only is Linderbaum arguably the most coveted player in free agency, the Bears could pursue him as their replacement for Dalman.
The Falcons have no reason to pursue Tyler Linderbaum over Ryan Neuzil now that the Bears are involved in the sweepstakes
There has been talk that the three-time Pro Bowler could command a contract worth north of $20 million a season, which would likely make him the highest-paid center in NFL history. Creed Humphrey is making $18 million a season, but the Linderbaum bidding war could push him close to $25M a year.
Teams like the Giants, Ravens, and Chargers have been the most involved, but given how aggressive Ryan Poles has been in trying to rebuild the interior of Chicago's offensive line, they could look to get involved, but they could also be better suited to pursue a cheaper starting center like Tyler Biadasz.
As for Poles' former protege, new Falcons' GM Ian Cunningham, don't count on it anymore. Neuzil was more than serviceable in 2025 in Dalman's place. In fact, he was genuinely good, so even though Cunningham is a former lineman, he and Matt Ryan know backing up the brinks truck for a center is bad for business.
Besides, with the way things are trending and given all of the other free agents (and young stars), the Falcons have to retain and extend, Linderbaum was never a viable target. The 25-year-old would be a dream get for Atlanta this offseason, especially with Bill Callahan coming in, but they can't afford him.
Neuzil is an affordable in-house option who the Falcons can feel comfortable starting, so even though Linderbaum is the flashier option to set Bijan Robinson and Michael Penix Jr. up for more success, sticking with Neuzil and bolstering the offensive line elsewhere is the most superior course of action.