For all the elements that are important to what a quarterback does, the relationship with his center is a pretty important, however overlooked, one. As he moves toward his third season, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams will be on his third starting center after the retirement of Drew Dalman.
The Bears moved very quickly to replace Dalman, surely with some idea he could call it a career before it happened, acquiring Garrett Bradbury from the New England Patriots via trade. So Williams has to establish a relationship with a new center, and he talked about the key to that as the Bears opened the voluntary portion of their offseason program.
"It's reps", Williams said. "Now that I've been in it, being able to communicate, being able to, you know, questioning him, him questioning me, us talking, communicating, being able to speak about the offense, I think that's a jump-start. It all comes down to reps, seeing how he snaps it...."
Garrett Bradbury looks forward to building a relationship with Caleb Williams
Bradbury also spoke to reporters on the first day of the Bears' offseason program. As expected, he was asked about his interactions with Williams up to that point.
"I flew up here for a physical, had some paper work and stuff like that, and he was here meeting with Coach Johnson", Bradbury said. "So I got to spend some time with him, getting to know him. Yeah, he's obviously as advertised on the field, but (a) really sharp individual off the field. So, look forward to building that relationship, and learning from him...Definitely looking forward to working with him.”
As the Bears eye a longer-term answer at center in the upcoming draft, and as he enters a contract year, the 30-year-old Bradbury is in line to be a one-year stopgap before that potential successor takes over in 2027. But by the same token, in what looks to be the best overall situation of his career, Bradbury could put himself in a position to cash in nicely as a free agent next March.
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After Dalman retired, a solid veteran presence was needed in the middle of the Bears' offensive line, and they found that answer quickly with Bradbury. While it lands as unlikely right now, there's a non-zero chance he can parlay a good 2026 season into a slightly longer stay in Chicago.
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