The Patriots have signed veteran free agent center Garrett Bradbury, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings to a contract. It's a good move by Mike Vrabel and makes perfect sense in light of the current status of the team's offensive line. Bradbury is another solid, veteran addition to arguably the worst offensive line in the NFL in 2024.
If members of Patriot Nation aren't thrilled with the news, it's understandable. The Pats recently released long-time center and all-around top Patriots legend David Andrews. It came as a shock and disappointment. Yet, there must have been an underlying reason for this by Head Coach, Mike Vrabel.
The likely reason is Andrews isn't healthy. The nine-year, 32-year-old center missed all but four games in 2024 due to injury. His understudy and former fourth-round pick, Jake Andrews, was also out, leaving the Pats in a precarious position in the pivot. The options were waiver-wire types. Bradley gives them a legitimate NFL-quality starter at a vital position.
Patriots decision to sign Garrett Bradbury provides stability at a key position on offense
The center is an underrated yet central position on any NFL offense. He usually calls the signals and blocking assignments and is tremendously helpful to his quarterback, especially if he's younger, like the Patriots' second-year quarterback, Drake Maye.
Current roster options include Jake Andrews if he's healthy; Ben Brown, a free agent who filled in in 2024; Lecitus Smith, another waiver-wire type; and guard Cole Strange. An injury-prone draftee, two waiver-wire players, and a former first-round pick who couldn't even play guard aren't going to move the needle in Foxborough.
Mike Vrabel is an experienced NFL Head Coach. He knows his center is the focal point of the offensive line. When you have no center, you have no chance. While the left tackle position (also bereft of talent in Foxborough at the moment) is the most important one on the O-line, the center slots in as perhaps the most indispensable on every play. So why is Bradbury a good signing?
Garret Bradbury brings a lot to the table for the Patriots
Mike Vrabel knows that having no capable offensive line means having no chance to win. He's also aware that after bolstering his defense primarily in free agency, he'll only have so much draft capital to wheel in April. So, he's now added three solid veterans to his porous offensive line. All are immediate upgrades.
Morgan Moses will slot in and start at right tackle, Wes Schweitzer will probably start at left guard, and Bradbury will do the same at center. Assuming Mike Onwenu is the right guard, that means the only major imperative for Vrabel is to add a solid left tackle, and the starting offensive line is whole. It's a realistic strategy that makes perfect sense. Bradbury is another round peg in a round hole.
Bradbury is a six-year veteran from a good team, the Vikings. He knows how to play and win, something the other Pats centers don't. He's experienced and reliable. He started all 17 of the Vikings 2024 games. This all smacks of creating immediate stability on the offensive line.
Having him, Moses, and Schweitzer takes loads of pressure off Vrabel's draft strategy. If he subsequently signs top left tackle Cam Robinson, another major impediment to fashioning a winning team is removed. If not, he still has top picks available to fill both the deficient wide receiver position and left tackle with multiple additions.
Vrabel has systematically and deftly used reasonable-cost options to almost totally remake his offensive line. He'll complete the puzzle either by signing Robinson or another veteran left tackle or using heavy draft capital to bolster the position.
The offensive line moves to date smack of an experienced Head Coach who knows he can't win without a competent group up front. Bradbury is another solid piece of the puzzle. Expect Mike Vrabel to either sign a free-agent left tackle and/or heavily draft that position and wide receiver. Vrabel is a pro, and he's in charge. It's perfectly evident if you look at how he's operating well.