The New England Patriots did not waste any time after releasing longtime starting center and team captain David Andrews. Just five days later, they signed a player who was immediately projected to fill his shoes: Garrett Bradbury, himself a six-year starter with the Minnesota Vikings, was added on a two-year, $9.5 million contract.

As a look at the details of that deal as first reported by Ben Volin of the Boston Globe and further dissected by salary cap expert Miguel Benzan shows, the initial projection still appears to hold true. It’s his job to lose.

C Garrett Bradbury: Contract details

2025:
Base salary: $1,400,000
Signing bonus: $1,200,000
Roster bonus: $850,000
Workout bonus: $150,000
Incentives: $1,000,000
Salary cap hit: $4,600,000

2026:
Base salary: $3,700,000
Signing bonus: $1,200,000
Roster bonus: $850,000
Workout bonus: $150,000
Incentives: $1,000,000
Salary cap hit: $5,000,000

Despite falling short of the initially reported maximum value of $12 million, Bradbury is still getting well-compensated by the Patriots. In fact, it becomes very likely that he will not just be on the roster in 2025 but the first man up snapping the football in lieu of David Andrews.

Besides giving him a $2.4 million signing bonus prorated over the deal’s two years, the team also guaranteed his $1.4 million salary in Year 1. In addition, he agreed to a combined $1.85 million in availability pay this fall: Bradbury will be playing for an $850,000 roster bonus paid out in per-game installments of $50,000, as well as up to $1 million in playing time incentives classified as likely to be earned (and thus counting versus the cap).

The structure of the deal starts tipping in the team’s favor in 2026, but a $5 million cap charge with $1.2 million in guarantees is still good value for both sides. Bradbury remaining on the roster for the entire lifespan of his new Patriots contract could very well happen.

Whether or not he remains the starter throughout is another story. But the contractual groundwork seems to have been laid for him to at least fill that role in 2025.