The Other Vikings Castaway Who is Going to the Super Bowl
Plenty of attention is on Sam Darnold, Seattle’s QB1 who functioned as the key catalyst for the Seahawks getting to the Super Bowl. What about the other Vikings castaway?
Over in New England, Garrett Bradbury is functioning as the starting center. Nobody is mistaking the veteran for vintage Jason Kelce, but he’s evidently good enough to help a team push for football’s top prize. Did the Vikings miscalculate on the center decision, as well?
Vikings Castaway Garrett Bradbury Pursuing a SB Ring
The 2025 season will be remembered as a colossal failure by football fans in Minnesota.
Back in January, the 14-3 Vikings decided not to show up for its game against the Rams, losing in the playoffs promptly. The aftermath involved showing Darnold the door in favor of J.J. McCarthy. The roster reinforcements that were meant to insulate McCarthy from a bad outcome — Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, and so on — weren’t good enough to save a Minnesota team with such poor quarterback play.
The obvious caveat is that Minnesota did have a method to its madness.
All along, the plan involved bringing McCarthy along slowly. Sam Darnold would start in 2024 even if the kid was healthy, thereby allowing the unproven young fella to refine his abilities away from the spotlight. Seeing Darnold wilt against LA — and for the second time that season — further corroborated the notion that moving on made sense.
Plus, there were no shortage of voices applauding the moves the Vikings were making. Plenty of great football minds were on board with the approach, so lobbing over critiques at this stage feels unfair, right?
In some ways, yes. In other ways, no. Why pay a GM and HC top dollar if not for them to offer leadership that accurately foresees where things are going? Indeed, the job of a great general manager and head coach often comes down to accurately assessing the available evidence to then choose the path that leads to success.
The Seattle Seahawks did so in signing Sam Darnold; the New England Patriots did so in signing Garrett Bradbury.
Mr. Bradbury possesses an unusual blend of athleticism and strength. Few, if any, centers in the NFL move as well as he does.
As a result, Bradbury is often a strong option if a team wants to run the ball (the Vikings often don’t). So, too, can he be a menace in the screen game. Tasking him with getting out into open space to provide protection for a scampering pass catcher is well within Bradbury’s abilities.
Where he struggles is when it comes to holding up in pass protection. Powerful defensive tackles bully Garrett Bradbury. In the Super Bowl, Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy are very likely to find success against him at various points, especially in 3rd and long.
But while that’s an outcome that’s easy to foresee, Bradbury has played every snap on offense in the Patriots’ playoffs. The past pair of games involved battling the Texans and Broncos, two of the more impressive defenses in the NFL. Bradbury hung in there.
New England got Garrett Bradbury to town for a two-year deal for just $9.5 million. He didn’t allow a single sack all season, per PFF, and nor did he commit a penalty.
Quite possibly, the Vikings would have been well served by not adjusting the position.
