Pats Pulpit
Less than five months after they let him go, Garrett Bradbury and the Minnesota Vikings are set to cross paths again.
On Wednesday, Bradbury and his new team, the New England Patriots, will hold the first of two joint practices at the Vikings’ state-of-the-art facility in Eagan. For the 30-year-old, the reunion comes with some extra motivation.
“Yeah, always. Always,” he recently told reporters at Patriots training camp while also stressing the need to stay on an even keel. “If you go into it, treat it like any other day. It’s just having the same approach to practice, and then — I don’t know — finish a little longer, maybe. But hopefully I’m doing that anyway.”
The 18th overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, Bradbury spent six seasons as a Viking. Along the way, he started all 92 regular season and playoff games he appeared in for the franchise and in 2023 earned himself a three-year, $15.8 million contract extension.
However, Bradbury ended up not making it through that deal. In March, the Vikings decided to sign free agent Ryan Kelly to a two-year, $18 million pact, putting their former starting center on the chopping block. After failing to trade him, he was released five days after the team had added Kelly.
Bradbury did not remain unsigned for long and reached an agreement with the Patriots just one day after his time in Minnesota founds its end. New England brought him aboard on a two-year, $9.5 million deal and he has served as the club’s No. 1 center ever since.
Despite the unceremonious departure from the Vikings and subsequent change of scenery, Bradbury still has close ties to his former team. More than any lust for revenge, that is what he is looking forward to this week.
“This business is about relationships,” he said. “Being there for six years — whether it’s guys in the equipment room, the weight room, operations guys, most importantly the guys in the locker room — I have a lot of friends there. It will be good to see them, and at the same time, compete and get that much closer to Week 1.”
The Patriots and Vikings will hit the practice fields on Wednesday and Friday, leading up to their preseason bout at U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday. The arena and the practice facility in and around Minneapolis are among the best the NFL has to offer, and something Bradbury is happy to get to experience again.
“We called it the Country Club up there, because it’s so nice,” he explained. “They did a great job with it. It’s great for their guys, but at the same guys for a joint practice setup. It’s a good facility. We’ll stay in the hotel right next to it. It will be a good competition for a few days.”
