Garrett Bradbury is out — and the Patriots’ plan at center is now staring everyone in the face. Jared Wilson’s move back inside isn’t about what Bradbury wasn’t, it’s about what New England wants the offensive line to become.
Last night, the New England Patriots finalized a deal to trade center Garrett Bradbury to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round pick.
Chicago was in need of a new center following the surprise retirement of Drew Dalman earlier this week, and found their guy in Bradbury. After signing with New England in free agency last offseason, Bradbury was the Patriots’ starting center in 2025. Most would agree his level of play exceeded expectations, and he provided stability along the interior of the offensive front in Foxboro.
That may have been enough to net New England a future pick in return for Bradbury — who now clears $6.8 million on the cap entering the final year of his contract — but it wasn’t enough to keep him around long-term.
Rather than being an indictment on Bradbury’s performance, the Patriots moving on signals a larger shift for the offensive line going forward: Jared Wilson moving to center.
Wilson spent his final collegiate season at center with the Georgia Bulldogs, and as a prospect for the 2025 NFL Draft, ranked second of 622 center prospects in Relative Athletic Score (RAS) from 1987–2025 with a 9.98 out of 10. In his rookie season in New England, he was shifted to guard — where he experienced ups and downs as a full-time starter.
Together, the young duo of Wilson and left tackle Will Campbell profiles as an uber-athletic pairing that can create massive lanes at the second level in the run game — a divergence from the large, power specialists of Patriots past.
In 2025, they struggled in pass protection against some of the league’s best defensive fronts in the postseason. Drake Maye was sacked an NFL-record 21 times in the playoffs, and the majority of those pressures came off the left side.
The upside showed in flashes throughout the year, but the playoff gauntlet made one thing clear: New England needs more stability around them to maximize their performance.
Sliding back to center gives Wilson the opportunity to showcase his athleticism in space, and it gives the Patriots a clean path to place a free agent guard between him and Campbell. Putting a veteran in that spot would help both young linemen with pre-snap communication and post-snap games and stunts — and should elevate the unit as a whole.
A hot topic in recent weeks, Mike Vrabel was asked about Wilson’s potential move to center at the NFL Scouting Combine last week. He responded:
“We’re going to try to play with the best five, and we’re going to try to put our players in the best situation for them. And sometimes, we also ask them to maybe do what’s best for the football team in order to get the best five.”
Vrabel continued: “Jared worked at both positions. We asked him to prepare as a starter each week at center, even though he didn’t have to. So, I’m sure that he’ll do the same thing when we start April 20th.”
It’s obvious Wilson was one of New England’s best five offensive linemen last season — and last season, what was best for the football team meant starting at guard. As a rookie, it was impressive that he prepared to handle multiple roles along the line on a weekly basis, but the Patriots will want him focused on one job moving forward.
They’ve continued to work with Wilson at center since he was drafted, and now it looks like that will be his primary position in 2026 and beyond. He’ll be a better fit there, and Bradbury was always the odd man out in that scenario.
To his credit, Bradbury was a strong locker room presence during his time in Foxboro — receiving the local media’s 2025 Ron Hobson Good Guy Award — and a dependable presence at center. Now, it’s Wilson’s time to anchor the position for New England.
The Patriots’ offensive line reshuffling begins with Bradbury and Wilson, but it won’t end there.
Next, they’ll likely look for a veteran guard to plug in between Campbell and Wilson in free agency.
We’ll be taking a closer look at potential options in the coming days with our upcoming “Free Agency Fits” series — including several players with ties to Vrabel and Josh McDaniels.
Stay tuned for all of that and much more to come right here on Patriots Roundtable.
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