3 Landing Spots for Garrett Bradbury
The Vikings entered free agency with the intention of improving the interior of the offensive line. Head coach Kevin O’Connell suggested that the area needed to be addressed, and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made sure to give his top coach what he needed.
3 Landing Spots for Garrett Bradbury
Most expected the arrival of a guard, but replacing center Garrett Bradbury seemed unlikely given how clearly he had been entrenched into the starting unit for six years.
However, the club added former Colts center Ryan Kelly, a four-time Pro Bowler, to take his spot. Suddenly, Bradbury was the odd man out.
Minutes after shipping guard Ed Ingram to Houston, reports surfaced that Bradbury had been shopped, too. On Monday, the Vikings said goodbye to their center.
Tom Pelissero reported, “The Vikings are releasing veteran center Garrett Bradbury with a post-June 1 designation, per me and Ian Rapoport. After trying to trade him, Minnesota now officially moves on from Bradbury, their former first-round pick.”
Well, he needs a new job now. Here are three realistic destinations.
1. Green Bay Packers
The Packers lost 2021 second-rounder Josh Myers in free agency. The man started 50 games for the Packers in the last three seasons. Green Bay is known to have strong offensive lines, regularly finding stars on day three of the draft in addition to spending early draft picks. Regardless, Myers played at a level comparable to Bradbury.
The Packers signed guard Aaron Banks to a huge contract, allowing them to shuffle the line and move versatile lineman Elgton Jenkins to center. However, Jenkins has been playing wherever the Packers needed him, starting games at all five OL spots. If Green Bay wants to keep that flexibility, hiring a center for one year makes sense.
2. New England Patriots
The New England Patriots need all the offensive line help for Drake Maye they can get. In his rookie season, Maye played with one of the worst offensive rosters in all of football and that included problems on the line as well as having no established WR1 on the team.
In addition to that, the Patriots just released longtime center David Andrews, who had manned the center position in the last few years of the Tom Brady era.
Maye would surely appreciate the addition of a capable center. An added bonus is that Bradbury could reunite with Joshua Dobbs, New England’s backup quarterback. Their video of practicing snap counts in the Atlanta game that kicked off Dobbs-mania went viral.
3. Atlanta Falcons
Speaking of reunion and Atlanta, well, Kirk Cousins’ club is also in the market for a center after losing starter Drew Dalman to Chicago.
The Falcons would also benefit from having an experienced center up front to give sophomore Michael Penix Jr. a veteran presence he can rely on when it comes to setting the protections.
Another wrinkle is that Atlanta’s offensive line coach, Dwayne Ledford, was Bradbury’s offensive line coach at North Carolina State, helping the athletic lineman to first-round stardom in the draft.
This feels like the best destination for the center.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt