Ex-Vikings center Garrett Bradbury signing two-year deal with Patriots

Bradbury is headed to New England, where he'll be snapping to Drake Maye as the Patriots' likely starting center.

Minnesota Vikings center Garrett Bradbury (56) protects his quarterback during a play against the Detroit Lions defense at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. | David Rodriguez Munoz / USA TODAY NETWORK

Former Vikings center Garrett Bradbury, who was released on Monday, is signing a two-year deal with the New England Patriots, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The contract comes with just $3.8 million guaranteed but could be worth up to $12 million.

The Patriots recently released team captain David Andrews, who had been their starting center for most of the last decade. Bradbury is now expected to take over in that role, where he'll be snapping to promising second-year quarterback Drake Maye on a rebuilding Patriots team that hired Mike Vrabel as their head coach this offseason.

Bradbury, the Vikings' first-round pick in 2019, started 92 games for Minnesota over the last six years, including the playoffs. He's a strong run blocker who is also good in the communication aspect of setting up protections from the center position, but his consistent struggles to anchor as a pass blocker led the Vikings to seek an upgrade this offseason. They signed former longtime Colts starter Ryan Kelly to a two-year deal to be their new starter in the middle of the offensive line, making Bradbury expendable.

After unsuccessfully attempting to trade Bradbury, they released him with a post-June 1 designation on Monday. Less than 24 hours later, he's already found a new home with New England.

Because he was cut by Minnesota, Bradbury will not factor into the compensatory pick equation. The Vikings will move forward with 2024 seventh-round pick Michael Jurgens as the current leading candidate to be their backup center.

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