New center knows exactly how Stefon Diggs will help Patriots (2025)

FOXBOROUGH – Garrett Bradbury was a teammate with Stefon Diggs for one season – and that’s all it took for him to become a fan of the wide receiver.

In 2019, the Vikings drafted Bradbury in the first round. When he arrived in Minnesota, he knew all about Diggs, who entering his fifth NFL season, but wasn’t sure if the star receiver would want anything to do with a rookie.

Diggs more than impressed Bradbury – on and off the field. Now, after both signed with the Patriots this offseason, the veteran center is ecstatic to become teammates with the Pro Bowl receiver once again.

“I was fired up to see him,” Bradbury said. “I was a young guy, and he was obviously he was obviously a superstar receiver, so there were some things I can learn from him. And he wasn’t big-time, right? Coming to the NFL as a rookie, and you obviously know their names, and you don’t know if they’re going to care about you, talk to you, but he loved the o-line, and so had a good relationship with him.

“Played against him when he was in Buffalo, played against him when he was in Houston. So, when I saw him for the first time, I was pretty fired up to see him, and his talent town speaks for itself. So, it’s a good weapon to have.”

Bradbury was in Minnesota for the last six seasons (2019-2024). The team released him this offseason and the Patriots were quick to sign him to a 2-year, $9.5 million contract. Bradbury fills a big need after the Patriots released veteran center David Andrews.

Nine days after Bradbury signed, the Patriots signed Diggs to a 3-year, $63.5 million deal. The receiver comes to New England looking to be the Patriots No. 1 receiver.

In his one season with Bradbury, he finished with 1,130 yards and nine touchdowns. He was traded to Buffalo the next offseason, but that one year in Minnesota made Bradbury a fan.

Now, he says the Patriots are in for a treat.

“How competitive he is. And when you have these superstar receivers, I mean, Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, I played with some good ones, you want them to be like that, right?” Bradbury said. “You want them to have belief in their talent. You want them to want the ball. And when he’s rolling, he’s hard to stop. And so, it’s ‘how can we all work together?’

“We need to get him involved. I know the coaches are going to do a good job of that. But you want competitive teammates. I see that in Drake (Maye). Diggs, I saw that firsthand.”