The showdown between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field this weekend could come down to a handful of different player or coaches, but the most intriguing such person is perhaps center Garrett Bradbury.
Chicago traded a fifth-round pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for Bradbury in March after Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman surprised the Bears by retiring at the age of 27. Bradbury is playing on a one-year deal worth $4.7 million and may remain in Chicago for the 2026 campaign only, as the team drafted center Logan Jones out of Iowa in the second round back in April.
But for this year, at least, Bradbury is a crucial element to what the Bears want/hope to do offensively. In head coach Ben Johnson’s zone read run game, the center position is critical.
And rendering Bradbury potentially even more important in Chicago’s two games against Minnesota this season is the fact that he spent the first six campaigns of his eight-year NFL career as the Vikings’ starting center (88 games played, 88 starts).
Vikings Defense Will Try to Exploit Garrett Bradbury With Blitz Packages
Alec Lewis of The Athletic on Friday, September 18 mentioned Bradbury as a key factor in the game for both teams.
Familiarity adds to the intrigue here. The Vikings drafted Bradbury in the first round in 2019. He spent six seasons in Minnesota and remains close with many of the team’s offensive linemen.
This wouldn’t normally be a focal point, but it’s difficult to overstate how important Bradbury might be in this matchup. Can he decipher the Vikings’ blitz strategies? Can he help Bears quarterback Caleb Williams sift through the mayhem? Can Minnesota make his head spin with stunts, twists, and mugged-up looks that create mental stress on each play, while also positioning him in suboptimal spots?
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores plucks at holes like nobody else. It will be fascinating to see if Bradbury is one of them.
Braxton Jones, Dallas Turner Matchup Should Prove Critical to Bears-Vikings Outcome
The other potential weak spot on Chicago’s offensive line is at left tackle, where Braxton Jones will presumably start again in Week 2.
Ozzy Trapilo, who claimed the starting role down the stretch of his rookie season in 2025, suffered a torn patellar tendon during the Bears’ playoff win over the Green Bay Packers in January.
He has made his comeback on a borderline miraculous timeline and was a full participant in the team’s practice on Friday for the first time since returning to the field in August.
Minnesota tallied 15 QB hits, four sacks and two turnovers against the Packers in Week 1. And while much of that success was due to Flores’s creative blitz schemes, pass-rusher Dallas Turner was elite off the edge in a more traditional role.
Turner racked up nine QB pressures, six hits, two hurries and one sack against Green Bay and should have Jones in his sites for a considerable portion of the afternoon in Chicago.
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