In a surprising turn of events from over the weekend, the New Orleans Saints will be forced to find a new center to anchor the team's offensive line going forward. According to an initial report from Field Yates of ESPN, Saints center Max Unger has elected to retire from the NFL.

Unger had one year remaining on his contract with the Saints while the veteran interior offensive lineman will now be placed on the team's reserve/retired list.

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The soon-to-be 33-year-old Unger originally broke into the league as a member of the Seattle Seahawks before ultimately finding himself in New Orleans by way of a trade. Selected by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft out of Oregon, Unger remained in Seattle until he was traded to the Saints in 2015. A three-time Pro Bowl selection and Super Bowl champion, Unger was also named as a first-team All-Pro once during his NFL career.

As a result of Unger's unexpected retirement, the Saints will save $6.95 million in cash and salary cap space, which is what the center was due to be paid in 2019. New Orleans still will have to account for $1.75 million in dead money against the salary cap, though, due to a previous signing bonus assigned to Unger.

It is also worth noting that the Saints recently held a visit with center Nick Easton, which could signal the fact that New Orleans has known about Unger's plan to retire for quite some time as the team is already preparing for the future.