Getty Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins warms up before a game against the Chicago Bears in October 2022.
No matter what the Minnesota Vikings locker room may say, in the backdrop is the possibility of this being Kirk Cousins‘ final year in Minnesota.
The new regime opted to restructure Cousins’ contract to free up cap space to make one last run with the soon-to-be 35-year-old quarterback instead of committing to another long-term deal in the offseason.
Asked about how it is having the same quarterback behind him over these years, Vikings center Garrett Bradbury, who re-signed to a three-year deal in March, did not hold back in how much he revels in Cousins being his quarterback.
.@Gbradbury_11 explains the variety of ways @KirkCousins8 positively impacts the offensive line.
“He makes this whole thing go around. [Offensive line coach Chris Kuper] talks all the time, because a lot us offensive linemen were drafted here and have been here our whole career. He’s like, ‘You don’t know what it’s like not have a quarterback.’ [Coach Kuper] has been through it. He’s been on a lot of teams. He’s seen five quarterbacks in five years kind of thing. He’s like, ‘You don’t know how good you have it.’ With how talented [Kirk] is. Not only that, but how dialed in he is and how smart he is, getting us all together, getting the play call, knowing what everyone is doing. You kind of take it for granted because it’s what you’re used to,” Bradbury said in an April 17 media conference.
Bradbury touched on training in the offseason with other players and hearing of other quarterback situations, which differ from his experience from Cousins.
“In the offseason you’re training with guys and you hear about how other quarterbacks go about their business, and you’re like, ‘That’s not [how Kirk is].’ He’s the first person in and the last person out. He’s got so much on his plate and he handles it with such class and such professionalism. I love playing with him. He’s the best. I can’t say enough good things about that guy. We’re lucky to have him,” Bradbury added.
Garrett Bradbury Re-Signs to 3-Year Deal
Bradbury at the podium on Monday showed the marks of a veteran leader after he was on the cusp of joining a new team a month ago.
The 18th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Bradbury had struggled early in his career to live up to that billing. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah opted not to exercise Bradbury’s fifth-year option last offseason and let him prove it on the final year of his contract.
Bradbury fared well.
He finished as the 11th highest-graded center by Pro Football Focus (PFF) with a 67.5 offensive grade. He ranked 29th with a 60.2 grade the year before.
Most importantly, Bradbury’s pass-blocking improved tremendously in a system that focuses more on team protection. Bradbury posted a 63.8 pass-blocking grade last season, a far cry from his 43.7 pass-blocking grade in 2021 that placed him 38th among 40 qualifying centers.
His improvement earned him a second contract in Minnesota, which he credited to the offensive line room that returns 11 of 12 players.
“There’s usually four [defenders] rushing the quarterback, and there’s five of us, so a lot of it is, ‘OK, someone’s uncovered; how can we help each other?’ You play as a unit,” Bradbury said. “And that’s why I talked about how those reps are so important. Because it’s, ‘All right, if I’m uncovered, who can I help? And if I go take his guy, who can he then go help?’ It’s limiting the 1-on-1 opportunities and playing together as a unit. It was just that togetherness, that collectiveness of us going out there and saying, ‘We are one.’ ”
Vikings C Garrett Bradbury on Why He Chose Minnesota
While Bradbury told that he largely stayed out of the business side of his free agency, he and his wife did come together to figure out what they want when it comes to a home.
Turns out, it was Minnesota.
“We were like ‘We want to be somewhere we want to live. We want to be somewhere with good coaches, system, locker room.’ And thinking about everything we wanted, Minnesota had it all,” Bradbury said. “The past four years kind of turned into home for us.
“This checked every box we had, and we’ve loved it here,” Bradbury added. “And it’s only getting better.”
Continuity on the offensive line hasn’t been a strength in the past with the Vikings, but this year, they are projected to return all five starters and the same coaches.
“You don’t really feel it until you come back into the building today and you’re like, ‘You know, there’s a chance I wasn’t going to be here. That these guys were all going to be starting [the offseason program] and I wasn’t going to be here,’ ” Bradbury told media members. “It just reassures that you made the right decision, and I’m happy to be back.”