On Tuesday afternoon, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that former Vikings’ 2019 first-round pick Garrett Bradbury has reached agreement on a two-year deal worth up to $12 million with the Patriots, including $3.8 million in guaranteed money.
Schefter went on to say that Bradbury started all 88 games he played for the Vikings, and that he is expected to be the replacement in New England for the recently released David Andrews.
Outside of missing time for injuries or health complications, Andrews had been a mainstay at center for the Patriots for a decade, winning two Super Bowls and being named a team captain eight times.
His future in the NFL remains unclear, as NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran told Jones & Keefe on Tuesday that he wasn’t sure if Andrews would have any interest in playing somewhere else other than New England.
“I think he still wants to play for the Patriots, but I don’t know if he wants to play anywhere else,” said Curran. “I mean that’s - or, still wanted to play for the Patriots, so I don’t know. He’s been pretty mum.”
So for those who were holding out hope that the veteran Georgia-product would be returning on a more team-friendly deal in the coming weeks as the team looked for a more practical succession plan, you can put that idea to bed.
Bradbury immediately becomes the most talented center in the Patriots’ offensive line room, joining Ben Brown and Coel Stange. Brown was a midseason pickup from the Lions last season, and finished 2024 ranked 39th out of 40 qualified centers by Pro Football Focus. Strange is a 2022 first round pick out of UT-Chattanooga, where his natural position was guard. After missing much of the 2024 season with an injury, Strange played center for New England to close out the season.
With the addition of Bradbury, logic tells you that Strange will be able to shift back to focusing on the position he was drafted in the first round to play, and Brown can shift into a depth offensive line piece with his 6-foot-5 frame.
Stay locked in to WEEI and WEEI.com for all the latest on the Patriots’ offseason.