Eliot Wolf
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Eliot Wolf
The New England Patriots traded center Garrett Bradbury to the Chicago Bears for a 2027 fifth-round pick. This was confirmed by NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport on Friday evening.
Bradbury started all 17 regular-season games at the center position. He recorded 705 offensive snaps without allowing a sack in the first 11 games of the season. He was part of the Patriots’ Super Bowl run, as they made it to Super Bowl LX.
Now, he is going to join a rising Bears team, coming off a playoff run of their own. Rappaport elaborated more on the deal in a post on X Friday evening.
Bradbury began his career in 2019 with the Minnesota Vikings. He spent six seasons with the organization and started all 88 games he played in. He signed a two-year $12 million contract as a free agent with the Patriots organization last March.
The Patriots free up an additional $5.6 million by trading Garrett Bradberry. They’ll have over $60 million in free agency, MassLive’s Mark Daniels reported this.
The #Patriots, who signed Garrett Bradbury to a two-year deal last year, have now flipped him to the #Bears for a 2027 fifth-round pick. Bradbury started all 17 games in New England, helping their run to the Super Bowl. pic.twitter.com/6AwDdhRqXv
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 6, 2026
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New England Patriots Could Rely on Jared Wilson
This could have major implications for the Patriots’ offensive line. The team has been mulling over whether to put second-year center Jared Wilson at the center position, as they look to improve the offensive line. Wilson initially started at the left guard position last season.
In addition to Wilson, the Patriots also have an experienced veteran at the position in Ben Brown. He signed a two-year extension in 2025 and can play several interior spots.
This move ultimately puts a lot of pressure on Wilson. The Georgia product played center at the college level at Georgia. He redshirted in 2021 and primarily served as a backup center. Wilson then moved over to the full-time starting center position in 2024. He started 12 games and earned coaches’ Second-Team All-SEC honors.
New England Patriots Free Up Salary Cap Space
In addition to just what this means for Wilson, the $5.6 million in salary cap space is important. The Patriots made several moves to do that this week, including releasing wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Now, the Patriots are in a position where they can continue to add talent. Rappoport noted earlier this week that the Patriots were ‘clearing the decks’ for a potential move. Now, it looks like they will have even more money to play with.
Wilson’s transition to center at the NFL level will be important to watch. It seems as though the Patriots are banking on him being able to do that. The Patriots have made it very clear that they want to develop and draft instead of paying for a marquee offensive lineman. This move, and the potential impact on Wilson, certainly solidifies that.
Wilson will have another year of experience under his belt and a Super Bowl run to learn from. He should be able to be up to the task, and this could be an opportunity for the Patriots to find stability at the center position. They have struggled to find stability since the release of David Andrews. Now, Wilson appears to be next in line to hold down the position.