New Patriots center already has a connection with Drake Maye (2025)

FOXBOROUGH – When Garrett Bradbury became a free agent this offseason, a friendly text chain on his phone had one common message:

Come to New England.

The veteran center spent the last six seasons in Minnesota, but a connection with Patriots quarterback Drake Maye made the Patriots an obvious landing spot for Bradbury. Or at least his brother-in-law, Jackson Kowar, and Maye’s older brother, Cole, thought so.

Kowar, who is a pitcher in the Seattle Mariners system, played college baseball with Cole and are close friends. Bradbury, who went to North Carolina State, saw Maye play in college and heard about the quarterback from his extended family.

Now, he’ll work as Maye’s center with the Patriots.

“I love Drake so far. It’s kind of a weird family connection,” Bradbury said. “My brother-in-law’s a baseball player and played with his brother Cole at Florida and their best friends. So, I was going through the free agency process, they were all like ‘New England, New England, New England.’ So got to know him a little bit.”

The Patriots offseason workout program started on Monday. Players haven’t had a practice yet, but Bradbury and Maye have already engaged in “competitive ping pong” battles. There are also preliminary plans to golf together this spring.

After the Patriots released captain and starting center David Andrews, the Patriots signed Bradbury to a 2-year, $9.5 million deal. The 29-year-old, who was a first-round pick in 2019, gives the Patriots a veteran presence on the offense line. He’ll also play an important role in Maye’s development.

Last year, with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, the Patriots center was the one who made changes at the line of scrimmage. With Josh McDaniels, however, that responsibility will fall on Maye.

That’s something Bradbury said he can help Maye with, but the veteran noted he believes the young quarterback can handle the added responsibility.

“I think it’s a combination. I think Drake will have a lot, but I think Drake’s ready for that. They wouldn’t put a lot on his plate if they didn’t have belief in him,” Bradbury said. “I think he’s a really smart young player, and it will only help him grow. I think sometimes you can just try and take a bunch off of the quarterback’s plate, and it’s like, sure, let’s make a simple for him. But I think the more that’s on his plate, the more that you can understand.

“The bigger picture, he can understand what everyone’s doing and get everyone in the right place. So, there’ll be certain times where, like, we all want to work together, right? But that’s an important position. You gotta have that position figured out. And from everything I’ve heard, they do here.”