After being selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft, center Garrett Bradbury went on to … More
Garrett Bradbury started every game he appeared in for the organization that drafted him.
But after 88, the veteran center found himself released by the Minnesota Vikings with the post-June 1 designation. No trade materialized. But a new opportunity has since then.
The New England Patriots agreed to terms with Bradbury on a two-year, $9.5 million contract a day after he officially became an unrestricted free agent last month.
“I had six great years in Minnesota. It’s a great locker room. Built some really good connections there,” Bradbury told reporters during his introductory press conference at Gillette Stadium on Thursday. “And it ended, right? That’s the business. You never want to feel comfortable, but that’s a wake-up call. That’s, ‘All right, here we go, that’s how they feel, they move on.’”
Bradbury, 29, stands 5,756 offensive snaps into a career that got underway in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft. The former Rimington Trophy winner and consensus All-American out of North Carolina State got the call at pick No. 18 overall.
He signed a three-year contract extension during his tenure in the NFC North, but no guaranteed money remained for 2025. And after the addition of longtime Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly, the writing was on the wall for the incumbent.
“There’s no ill will. I’m not bitter towards the Vikings,” said Bradbury, who handled 100% of the downs for the offensive line in 2024. “It’s just a new opportunity for me. I feel like when there’s a change, if you don’t take that opportunity, you’re not going to grow from it. And so, it’s more about I get to reinvent myself, I get to re-prove myself. The minute you think you have it figured out, you’re gone.”
Bradbury allowed 37 total quarterback pressures last campaign, according to Pro Football Focus, including four sacks and six hits. But the athletic, 6-foot-3, 300-pound pivot continued to reside among the league’s better run-blockers at the position with a grade of 70.7.
His new deal brings $3.8 million fully guaranteed. Cap charges of $4.6 million for 2025 and $5 million for 2026 are ahead, per OverTheCap.com. Among other things.
“And so, new team, new chapter, new offense – what can I bring? And you got to bring it every day,” added Bradbury. “It’s the biggest thing I’ve learned. That every single day, you have to bring it – meeting room, practice, weight room. So not even a wake-up call, but it’s just new. It’s exciting, a fresh start, a new opportunity.”
In Foxborough, Bradbury slots into the middle of things for new head coach Mike Vrabel and offensive line coach Doug Marrone. And for 22-year-old starting quarterback Drake Maye, who was sacked 34 times as a rookie on the way to becoming a Pro Bowl alternate.
“I love Drake so far,” Bradbury said. “It’s kind of a weird family connection. My brother-in-law is a baseball player and played with his brother, Cole, at Florida and they’re best friends. So when I was going through the free agency process, they were all like, ‘New England, New England, New England.’”
But similar to the transaction that set up Bradbury’s Minnesota exit, there was the one that set up his New England entrance.
The Patriots released eight-time captain David Andrews in March, ending a run that kicked off as an undrafted rookie in 2015 and went on to span 121 starts as well as Super Bowl LI and LIII rings. Those are now franchise All-Decade shoes to fill on a center depth chart that also moves forward with the likes of Ben Brown and Cole Strange in the mix.
“I’ve heard nothing but good things from guys that’ve played with him, guys that know him,” Bradbury said of Andrews. “I have a lot of respect for him. He played a long time in this league, at the same place, in the same city. I’ve heard the stuff he’s done outside in the community. I think his play speaks for itself. When you’re the guy at one position in one city for ten years, you tip your cap to him.”
