Garrett Bradbury hasn’t even taken his first snap as a member of the Chicago Bears, but the team’s projected starter at center already has a restructured contract.
Spotrac has the scoop on the tweaks in Bradbury’s deal, which converts $1 million worth of incentives and turns it into a guaranteed salary:
C Garrett Bradbury signed a renegotiated contract with the #Bears that converted $1M of incentives into guaranteed salary.The 30-year-old is now due $4.7M in 2026, with $3.7M guaranteed.
— Spotrac (@spotrac) May 7, 2026Seeing this news hit the timeline stopped me in my tracks. And, I’ll admit, I was stumped when asked about why the Bears would restructure Bradbury’s deal. But after taking some time to chew on it and think it over, I think I can make sense of the decision.
Garrett Bradbury Restructured His Contract With the Bears (Hmmm…)
The Bears sent a 2027 fifth-round pick to acquire Garrett Bradbury in a trade with the New England Patriots earlier in the offseason. Swinging a trade for Bradbury quickly plugged a hole on Chicago’s offensive line that was created with the surprising retirement of Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman. Bradbury came with a contract that had him projected to have a $5.7 cap hit in 2026. However, a renegotiated deal means he will make $4.7 million (with $3.7 million in guarantees) on the final year of a two-year deal he signed with the Patriots during the 2025 NFL offseason.
Bradbury is projected to be the Bears’ starter at center when the 2026 NFL regular season kicks off in September. However, the selection of Iowa center Logan Jones complicates matters. Chicago used the first of its three Day 2 picks on Jones, an All-American center who was a four-year starter at Iowa and a leader in the trenches for the Hawkeyes during his time on campus. You don’t have to use the wildest regions of your imagination to envision a scenario in which Jones starts in Week 1 and sends the veteran to the bench.
I discussed this potential scenario in the Logan Jones draft pick profile:
Even though the Bears had obvious needs along the defensive line, the team used their first of three Day 2 picks on center Logan Jones. The University of Iowa product projects to be Chicago’s long-term center option. He isn’t the perfect center prospect, but his strengths and starting experience in the Big Ten for a school that churns out quality offensive linemen like it’s nobody’s business have positioned him to be a contributor sooner rather than later.
Again, I am aware that Garrett Bradbury is on this roster. And the veteran center sits atop the depth chart for now. But if Logan Jones proves to the coaches that he is the best option to start, then history suggests the Bears will have no problem giving the rookie a chance to start in Week 1.
It would make sense if the Bears turned Garrett Bradbury’s contract incentives into guaranteed salary to give the recently acquired center some peace of mind should the rookie beat him out for the gig and cause him to lose playing time that would have allowed him to hit those incentives. And I suppose it is sensible to think that this contract restructuring could allow Chicago an easier path to trade Bradbury.
© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesTo be clear, I don’t think a Garrett Bradbury trade would be on the table right now. But if Jones’ development takes off during training camp and the preseason, a late-summertime trade of Bradbury could be on the table. And if a starting center elsewhere goes down with an injury, we could look back at tweaking Bradbury’s deal as something that carved out an easier path.
With that in mind, ESPN lists the Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants as teams with a need at center going into this season. It could be worth storing this in your memory bank for a later date.
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