The stunning news that Chicago Bears Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman is retiring at 27Â is still being felt across the Windy City.
Dalman signed a three-year, $42 million contract last offseason to be the new starting center of the team and put out the best season of his career with a Pro Bowl selection. Every Bears fan knows the impact of losing a great player like Dalman, but ESPN NFL analyst Chase Daniel says this is not only bad for the team, but for quarterback Caleb Williams.
"Drew Dalman was hauling all the protections... and it was really key in Caleb Williams' development. ... This is a massive, massive loss."
Caleb Williams could be completely impacted by Drew Dalman's retirement
Dalman was controlling everything on the offensive line, which took a lot off of Williams's plate as he was handling everything else pre-snap. Losing someone like Dalman could completely change how the offense works.
The Bears are looking at options like Baltimore Ravens free agent center Tyler Linderbaum and free agent center Tyler Biadasz to take over, which could give them the same protection responsibilities that Dalman had. If the Bears elected to go with someone like Ryan Bates or Luke Newman, that might change the tone a bit and could mean Williams has to handle those types of calls.
Last season, Bears head coach Ben Johnson contributed to Williams' inaccuracy issues by throwing more on his shoulders in the offense, so many fans might believe he might not be able to handle the protection calls. That should go to whoever the new center will be, so Williams can handle everything else.
Read more: Caleb Williams reacted like every Bears fan did to Drew Dalman's retirement news
Chicago should be able to bring in a veteran center to step in right away and start, but this could have quite the impact on Williams moving forward. This situation could either make Williams stronger or weaken the offense.