Is Garrett Bradbury the Chicago Bears free agent answer at center
The Chicago Bears are going to have to be active during this free agency cycle, and they will have to address the offensive line at some point. They may need to add a center, guard, or both depending on how things break. One name to keep an eye on in free agency is center Garrett Bradbury.
Should Chicago Bears sign Garrett Bradbury in NFL free agency?
Garrett Bradbury is a former first-round pick coming off of his first contract in the NFL. Those are the types of players to bet on in free agency because they are still young, they obviously have talent, and if they find the right system at the right time, these types of free agents can be the biggest steals.
With that said, Garrett Bradbury did not have a great time in Minnesota. Still, it seemed as though he was drafted without understanding exactly what he was. Bradbury is an undersized center. He has fine movement skills and can get out into space in a big way.
Still, you need to insulate him with power at guard, and you cannot trust him to win with power often. Mike Zimmer and his old-school ways seemed to have a different idea for using Bradbury.
That is why it is not surprising that 2022 was the best year of Garrett Bradbury’s career. The scheme that Kevin O’Connell ran fit his skill set much more, and it looked like more than just a player hitting his best stretch in front of contract negotiations. It looked like a player being unlocked by better coaching.
The unfortunate thing is that he suffered an injury in week 13 and missed the last five games of the season. They had ugly losses to the Lions and Packers without him, and while he came back for the playoff loss to the Giants, he was clearly not 100%.
So, he has three seasons of up-and-down play, and then 12 solid games before an injury wiped him out. The Vikings fell apart when he went down, so there is a question of how badly they will want to keep him, combined with how much they can trust him moving forward.
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If Bradbury gets free, he may be a great find at the right price. He will be discounted because of his reputation, but his recent play shows that he could still have some untapped ability. The Chicago Bears need a center in the worst way, and at age 28 next year, it could be a fit for the duration of Justin Fields rookie contract, and beyond.