Will Pats cut Bradbury? [OG title mentioned a non-existent option bonus]

[imahobgoblin]

Strange69 would Indeed have been more helpful starting at LG this season than Wilson was.

Its like poop vs poop with an M&M on top.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

Onwenu being a good or even great player and his mobility being "an issue" aren't mutually exclusive. His lack of mobility means that he there are certain limitations in what you want to be asking him to do. If your RG is immobile then it's hard to run screens that involve the RG getting on the perimeter and moving. That's "an issue" that makes it hard for you to run that play.

IMO, the only way they should let Onwenu go is if there's some wholesale changes where they not only want to change personnel, but also the "style" and "scheme" of their OL to really lean into those kind of plays. Otherwise, no sense in letting him go even though the cap number is so big. Just not worth opening up a whole at RG when LG is a dire need and C is kind of a question mark/weak area.

 

[Zuma]

Evan Lazar, other analysts and ex-players have stated they believe Wilson will be better suited to play C in 2026 then LG in 2025. I agree with several in this thread that some at Patsfans are not seeing what said others are.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

Evan Lazar, other analysts and ex-players have stated they believe Wilson will be better suited to play C in 2026 then LG in 2025. I agree with several in this thread that some at Patsfans are not seeing what said others are.

Not sure anyone has suggested otherwise? Seems pretty universally agreed he profiles better as a center. The disagreement comes from whether or not it makes sense to just throw him in that role as a starter right away. Some want to just go for Linderbaum because he's available in which case Wilson has to improve at guard or settle for a backup spot. Some want to sign a different FA even as a stop gap (i.e. I've suggested McGovern with the idea he moves to a Guard spot in 2027 for Wilson). Some want to keep Bradbruy and have a competition that lets him have to win it. Others just trust he'll be fine there and want to save the money on Bradbury to spend on other players and not bother.

 

[Real fan 02]

Strange69 would Indeed have been more helpful starting at LG this season than Wilson was.

 

[Family]

Strange is pretty young. There's another thread here about picking up a veteran guard. So we're already talking about bringing people in instead of going with development.

At the time they were leaning towards players who were their picks, not guys still here from two administrations ago.

They mostly tried to clean house, and Strange frankly is still probably not the idea of a veteran OL they want.

In retrospect Strange is one of the few you could point to as maybe a mistake. And I still think no. He was not enough of an upgrade.

Most of the veteran dumps were the right thing to do.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Just not worth opening up a whole at RG when LG is a dire need and C is kind of a question mark/weak area.

The reason you open up the hole is to fill it. If you can use the same cap space to get better via FA, then you do it. It happens all the time. No-one is saying Onwenu is bad, but I am saying Onwenu is over priced.

If we can sign Linderbaum for roughly the same money and have a longer term contract, have the leader in the OL in the Center to help LG and RG, and add more mobility, the Pats are better off.

Players that stay in shape have a longer playing life. Onwenu is not a guy for another 4 year contract.

 

[TomPatriot]

But didn't he start there for only one season?

Yup. Played behind the guy who is now the Bills backup.

 

[p8ryts]

We have said this about too many interior linemen who ended up starting and playing well elsewhere, from Froholdt to Strange to Jake Andrews.

Granted, there were many who failed elsewhere and never were going to develop, and some who are already out of the league quickly (Layden Robinson), but there are others who did develop after not showing much as rookies.

Froholdt was a holding machine when he was here. Strange never really got a chance here in my mind. His draft position brought a label that people couldn't forgive, hampered further by injuries. The new regime never wanted to bother with him. Andrews was never healthy here. Yet we still coddle Caedan Wallace.

 

[dliverey44]

Hawkins was a veteran who was an inexpensive choice as a starter. This is similar to Strange being retained as inexpensive starter.
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We ALL wanted to see Wilson develop. He should have had development at CENTER.

I think the plan is to move him to Center and they used his rookie season to get him some game experience. They had signed Bradbury and then when they drafted WIlson they decided to give him the LG spot to get experience. I think Bradbury gets cut and Wilson takes over at Center.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

The reason you open up the hole is to fill it. If you can use the same cap space to get better via FA, then you do it. It happens all the time. No-one is saying Onwenu is bad, but I am saying Onwenu is over priced.

If we can sign Linderbaum for roughly the same money and have a longer term contract, have the leader in the OL in the Center to help LG and RG, and add more mobility, the Pats are better off.

Players that stay in shape have a longer playing life. Onwenu is not a guy for another 4 year contract.

True. If Onwenu is being cut for an immediate replacement at RG that's different and kind of goes along with what I was saying about a different kind of player. Linderbaum is not a RG though. We have existing cap space. if they want to sign Linderbaum for C they absolutely should but they don't need to weaken RG to do so.

It's hard to comment 100% with a full offseason plan. Sure if they're exhausting every option to improve and signing tons of guys at other positions then maybe Onwenu is just way too much to handle at $17.5M and you gotta go with cheap guys/camp competition. But as of right now there's no need to move off Onwenu unless it's for an immediate replacement IMO.

 

[DaBruinz]

The reason you open up the hole is to fill it. If you can use the same cap space to get better via FA, then you do it. It happens all the time. No-one is saying Onwenu is bad, but I am saying Onwenu is over priced.

If we can sign Linderbaum for roughly the same money and have a longer term contract, have the leader in the OL in the Center to help LG and RG, and add more mobility, the Pats are better off.

Players that stay in shape have a longer playing life. Onwenu is not a guy for another 4 year contract.

Go ahead and show everyone this Top 7 RG you have in mind for the Pats that is a Free agent.

The issue with wanting to cut Onwenu is that you aren't going to get an UPGRADE there. All you're doing is moving the issue around with that suggestion.

I have yet to see anyone, myself included, suggest another 4 year deal for Onwenu.

You don't cut off your right arm to fix your nose.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

True. If Onwenu is being cut for an immediate replacement at RG that's different and kind of goes along with what I was saying about a different kind of player. Linderbaum is not a RG though. We have existing cap space. if they want to sign Linderbaum for C they absolutely should but they don't need to weaken RG to do so.

It's hard to comment 100% with a full offseason plan. Sure if they're exhausting every option to improve and signing tons of guys at other positions then maybe Onwenu is just way too much to handle at $17.5M and you gotta go with cheap guys/camp competition. But as of right now there's no need to move off Onwenu unless it's for an immediate replacement IMO.

What is important is finding the best players, not an immediate replacement. In drafting circles this guiding principle is referred to BPA, Best Player Available. The same principle applies to replacing players cut or lost to FA.

The BPA principle is difficult to understand sometimes. NFL teams all have star or All-Pro players, and JAGs. Every team has JAGs. The difference between teams' talent level is usually the number or quality of the All-Pros (or the best players), not the JAGs. If the NFL team targets BPA they are more likely to have higher level players at the top of their roster. No team ever excelled by adding replacement players at a lower cost. Linderbaum is an All-Pro and the BPA available on the OL in FA.

 

[Stu Pidassle]

I looked up Wilson's 2025 PFF numbers. Ugly. When it is this bad, why not play Brown?

With Bradbury and Wilson blocking, how did anyone expect to run between the tackles?

Category	Grade	Positional Rank
Overall PFF Grade	52.2	72nd of 81 qualifying guards
Pass Blocking	62.2	43rd of 81 qualifying guards{
Run Blocking	42.8	75th of 81 qualifying guards

PFF doesn't think that Strange would have made much of a difference.
Cole Strange earned a 54.9 overall PFF grade during the 2025 NFL season while playing for the Miami Dolphins.

• Run Blocking Grade: 57.0 (ranked 51st among 81 guards)
• Pass Blocking Grade: 42.2 (ranked 75th among 81 guards)

 

[Ross12]

Not sure anyone has suggested otherwise? Seems pretty universally agreed he profiles better as a center. The disagreement comes from whether or not it makes sense to just throw him in that role as a starter right away. Some want to just go for Linderbaum because he's available in which case Wilson has to improve at guard or settle for a backup spot. Some want to sign a different FA even as a stop gap (i.e. I've suggested McGovern with the idea he moves to a Guard spot in 2027 for Wilson). Some want to keep Bradbruy and have a competition that lets him have to win it. Others just trust he'll be fine there and want to save the money on Bradbury to spend on other players and not bother.

In my mind - they don’t have a GLARING need at center. It could be better, but Bradbury is at least somewhat OK, and they will give Wilson the chance to win that job, at which point the position should be fine. Conversely, they have a glaring hole at LG - Wilson wasn’t very good and they don’t have anyone much better rostered. They need to be spending their free agent dollars there.

I could see the argument for signing both a guard AND a center, but I can’t imagine they want to put that much into the OL when they also will be wanting to probably sign a TE, a WR, a LB, maybe multiple DEs, an extension for Gonzo… etc. It would also basically be relegating Wilson to a backup job immediately and for the near future.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

PFF doesn't think that Strange would have made much of a difference.
Cole Strange earned a 54.9 overall PFF grade during the 2025 NFL season while playing for the Miami Dolphins.

• Run Blocking Grade: 57.0 (ranked 51st among 81 guards)
• Pass Blocking Grade: 42.2 (ranked 75th among 81 guards)

Thanks. PFF also has Ben Brown having a PFF grade of 66.8 (Strange is a 54.9 and Wilson is a 49.9) for the games he played when Wilson was out. I think those grades roughly align with what we saw with our own eyes.

There was a discussion about trading for a veteran for LG at the deadline as well. When it was a possibility of going deep into the playoffs, there is an argument for a low level trade at the deadline to strengthen the LG position.

 

[Family]

In my mind - they don’t have a GLARING need at center. It could be better, but Bradbury is at least somewhat OK, and they will give Wilson the chance to win that job, at which point the position should be fine.

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I don't think they keep Bradbury with the cap hit VS Dead cap.

Maybe they rewrite the contract to be another two year deal with a cap friendly first year, but until that happens it's Wilson and Ben Brown at center.

 

[Stu Pidassle]

Thanks. PFF also has Ben Brown having a PFF grade of 66.8 (Strange is a 54.9 and Wilson is a 49.9) for the games he played when Wilson was out. I think those grades roughly align with what we saw with our own eyes.

There was a discussion about trading for a veteran for LG at the deadline as well. When it was a possibility of going deep into the playoffs, there is an argument for a low level trade at the deadline to strengthen the LG position.

In their heart of hearts I think Vrabel and Wolf would have treated the trade deadline differently if they knew the team would get to the super bowl. At the deadline it seemed counter productive to spend resources on improving in the short term when trying to get a number of players with long term potential to buy in on building a sustainable culture. In the end developing the rookies while getting to the super bowl unexpectedly is a nice consolation.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

In their heart of hearts I think Vrabel and Wolf would have treated the trade deadline differently if they knew the team would get to the super bowl. At the deadline it seemed counter productive to spend resources on improving in the short term when trying to get a number of players with long term potential to buy in on building a sustainable culture. In the end developing the rookies while getting to the super bowl unexpectedly is a nice consolation.

I agree.

But we thought we were developing Sidy Sow and Layden Robinson. Now PatsFans says we are developing Jared Wilson. We were wrong about Sow, we were wrong about Robinson, can you explain why PatsFans is right this time about Wilson?

 

[dliverey44]

I agree.

But we thought we were developing Sidy Sow and Layden Robinson. Now PatsFans says we are developing Jared Wilson. We were wrong about Sow, we were wrong about Robinson, can you explain why PatsFans is right this time about Wilson?

It all can be true, one staff was trying to develop Sow and Robinson and another staff is trying to develop Wilson. Posters are right because the current staff is trying to develop Wilson.

I feel pretty confident that if Wilson start at center that he will finish in the top half of all Centers.