FOXBORO, MA. --- After spending the first six seasons of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, their former first-round selection will be returning up north once again. New England Patriots center Garrett Bradbury is preparing to face off against his old squad in joint practices this week.
“When I first signed here, I found out that we’re gonna be going back there, so it’ll be great to see all the former guys," Bradbury said following Sunday's training camp practice. "This business is about relationships, and so being there for six years, whether it’s guys in the equipment room, guys in the weight room, operations, (and) most importantly, the guys in the locker room. I've got a lot of friends there. It'll be good to see them, but at the same time, compete and just get that much closer to Week 1."
Bradbury isn't the only person who will see old friends this week. His Patriots teammate, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, made a name for himself with the Vikings, quickly becoming one of the league's most electric players from 2015-2019. Now reunited in Foxboro, both Bradbury and Diggs are excited to return.
“He’s got one of the most famous plays, if not the most famous in Viking history,” Bradbury said. “So, I loved my time there with him. Already talked to him about going back. He’s been back. He’s played there. Might be a little different… but yeah, he’s awesome.”
That play of course was the now-iconic game-winning touchdown to send the Vikings to the 2017 NFC Championship. It was part of Diggs' special tenure with Minnesota and while Bradbury wasn't there for the 'Minneapolis Miracle,' it's clear he's well aware of the play.
Someone else he's aware of? Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who spent the first 11 seasons of his coaching career with the Patriots in a myriad of roles. After shorter stints with Miami and Pittsburgh, he joined Minnesota's staff and faced off against Bradbury in practice for two-straight seasons.
“Fortunately, because I’ve seen some offenses come in there for joint practice with not a lot of game plan, and it’s an absolute disaster, because you have to game plan it,” Bradbury said about the Super Bowl champion's defensive schemes. “But I think fortunately, (it's) not just me going against it for a few years. Coach (Josh) McDaniels and Flores know each other very well, and so it’ll be a good battle.
“It’s unique because we’re not going to see that every Sunday all year. But there’s little things, wrinkles with this defense, like, ‘all right, let’s have an answer to this. Let’s go back to our rules.’ So, it’ll be a good test.”
Another test the Patriots will have to deal with is second-year quarterback JJ McCarthy — who's slated to be the Vikings' starting quarterback after missing all of his rookie season with a torn meniscus in his right knee. Bradbury didn't snap to him in 2024, but interacted with him enough to get a general sense of what player New England will see this week in practice (and potentially the game on Saturday).
“It was brief,” Bradbury said about McCarthy. “He got hurt early, didn’t take a lot of snaps in training camp with us, and then, unfortunately, was non-weight bearing, so like, wasn’t going to practice, wasn’t going to meetings, and then towards the end of the year, he started coming around more. But he’s got a great vibe, got a great personality. He works hard; he’s got the right attitude. I wish him nothing but the best. He’s a great kid.”
The Patriots finished their open training camp slate and will have one more practice before heading to Minnesota on Tuesday. The team is getting prepped for their second-straight week of joint practices before their preseason bout Saturday afternoon. Kick off for Bradbury's return to Minnesota is slated for 1:00 p.m.
