New England Patriots - NESN.com
An offseason addition is embracing a change of scenery before his first season with the New England Patriots.
Garrett Bradbury spent the first six seasons of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, who released him in March. The starting center quickly found a new home, signing a two-year deal with the Patriots.
Some players may feel bitter about getting discarded by the only team they’ve ever known. Bradbury, on the other hand, discussed the benefits of changing clubs when speaking to reporters at Thursday’s training camp.
“A former player said to me after it all happened, ‘It should be mandatory that everyone play for at least two organizations,'” Bradbury recalled, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “Because you get to re-prove yourself, reinvent yourself, and you get to meet a lot of new people, awesome friends, see different ways of doing things.”
Bradbury started 88 games in Minnesota for Mike Zimmer and Kevin O’Connell. The Vikings finished 12th or better in total offense each of the last five years, going 14-3 behind Sam Darnold in 2024.
Minnesota jumped from 7-10 to title contention last season. Bradbury hopes to participate in a similar turnaround for the Patriots under new head coach Mike Vrabel.
“I had Zimmer and Kevin O’Connell, and that’s kind of all I’ve seen,” Bradbury said. “So now with Vrabel, I have a decent perspective on what I think works. And I think what he’s doing is going to work.”
Bradbury will spend the week around some familiar faces. The Patriots and Vikings are holding joint practices ahead of Saturday’s preseason matchup, which starts at 1 p.m. ET.
