The Patriots made their move on Garrett Bradbury in March, and so far it looks like they may have come out ahead before either team has played a meaningful snap.
New England dealt Bradbury to the Chicago Bears for a future fifth-round pick, a decision that opened the door for Jared Wilson to slide from left guard back to center, his natural spot. The Patriots also added Alijah Vera-Tucker in free agency to fill the vacancy Wilson left behind.
That shift came after Bradbury spent 21 games as New England’s starting center last season. He arrived on a two-year deal after the Patriots moved on from David Andrews, and by all accounts he handled the job the way the team wanted.
Mike Vrabel praised his approach earlier this offseason, saying, "Just touching on his professionalism," Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said earlier in the offseason on the trade. "Every day, he came to work, he was prepared.
Really led the offensive line. Great energy, connection with the quarterback, his durability, consistency."
Vrabel also pointed to the kind of presence Bradbury brought to the room. "They’re getting somebody that loves football, loves his teammates," Vrabel continued.
"He brought certainly a leadership to us that we needed last year. There was a consistency, durability.
That’s what they’re getting. They’re getting a pro who’s going to be prepared.
He’s going to make the calls. He’s going to communicate."
Bradbury’s impact showed up in the way the Patriots held together up front. He was anchoring an offensive line that included veteran right tackle Morgan Moses and two rookies on the left side in Wilson and left tackle Will Campbell.
Wilson said the group’s chemistry went beyond one player. "Aw man, it's not even just Garrett," Wilson said earlier in the year on the trade.
"It's that whole offensive line last year, (it) was really special to be a part of."
The tricky part with a March trade is that the real answer usually takes months to surface. Bradbury hasn’t taken a snap for Chicago yet, and the Patriots won’t see the value of that draft pick for a while.
Depending on how things play out, that pick could even wind up heading to Philadelphia as part of the A.J. Brown trade, though that’s a story for another day.
Still, the early signs point one way. After spring practices, New England’s offense looks faster than it did at this point a year ago. Wilson has had time to build a stronger connection with Drake Maye, and Vera-Tucker is working his way back from the season-ending injury he suffered in New York.
Bradbury’s situation in Chicago has gone in a different direction. At first, it looked like he would take over at center for Caleb Williams and settle in as a starter.
He sounded comfortable with the transition in the spring, saying, "Everyone runs the same plays," Bradbury told reporters at the time. "It's what do you call them, it's how you identify things, how you look at defenses, that verbiage.
I've gone through this a few times now. So, it's just getting up to speed on all the little things, the nuances."
But now he doesn’t appear to have a job locked down at all. The Bears drafted Iowa center Logan Jones in the second round of April’s NFL Draft, and Jones has been turning heads throughout OTA and minicamp work. Chicago reporter Erik Lambert noted that Jones continues to climb in his first spring as an NFL player.
In a way, that mirrors what New England saw in Wilson, a 2025 third-round pick, and why the Patriots felt comfortable moving on from Bradbury when they did.
The Patriots have their own priorities heading into training camp later this month, and they’re not spending much time worrying about how the Bears sort out their roster. But in the short term, it sure looks like New England doesn’t have much reason to second-guess the trade.
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