Vikings' Garrett Bradbury assesses his struggles, could be benched if Christian Darrisaw returns

Third-year center Garrett Bradbury went from starting 41 straight games for the Vikings to suddenly testing positive for COVID-19 and, at least temporarily, losing his starting job.

Bradbury tested positive Nov. 4, missing the Ravens and Chargers games. He was replaced by Mason Cole, who played well enough to keep the starting job over Bradbury the next two games. Bradbury returned against the Lions and Steelers when an injury prompted Cole to move to guard, but Bradbury could be heading back to the bench again.

"It's been a roller coaster, I'll be honest," Bradbury said Thursday. "You find out you get COVID and you're home by yourself pretty much for [12] days, a lot of thoughts go through your head. But, you know, the main thought is I can't wait to get back. I feel like I came back more motivated."

Bradbury, a 2019 first-round pick, offered an honest assessment of his struggles in the NFL after having the time to rewatch his games. He evaluated himself this season as "a little timid," saying it looked like he was playing to not make a mistake. That led to more introspection.

"Probably just [got] comfortable," Bradbury, 26, said. "You never want to be comfortable at any point in any profession, you know? And so, you got to take a hard look in the mirror. What do I need to do differently? What can I do differently? I feel like I'm doing that, and listening to the right people."

Bradbury could return to the bench Monday night in Chicago. That may depend on the health of left tackle Christian Darrisaw, whose return could send Oli Udoh back to right guard, and Cole back to center.

Darrisaw's limp was gone as he walked into the fieldhouse at TCO Performance Center for the start of Thursday's practice. He didn't do much during the special teams drills open to reporters, but he was officially listed as limited, marking the rookie's first practice since injuring his ankle Nov. 28 in San Francisco. Bradbury said he'll keep his head "on straight" regardless of his role.

"You're fired up for them, but then obviously you want to be out there, you think that you can help the team win," he said. "And so it's a balance, and I just tried to listen to the right people and keep my head on straight, because I knew and I know that I wasn't done playing for the year."

While 17 players were on the Bears' injury report, including seven with a non-COVID illness, the Vikings had better attendance at Thursday's practice. Only receiver Adam Thielen (ankle) and linebacker Eric Kendricks (low back) were held out. The back injury is a new designation for Kendricks, who missed the Dec. 5 loss in Detroit because of a biceps issue.

Running back Dalvin Cook (shoulder) was a full participant a week after taking 28 touches for 222 yards against the Steelers. Safety Camryn Bynum (ankle) also was listed as a full go. Cook said he'll continue to play with a harness on his left shoulder that was dislocated last month.

"I'm not dealing with no pain or nothing, it's over with," Cook said. "Got it back stronger, got it where I needed to go at. Now it's time to play football. I'm not dealing with no lingering soreness or pain."

Among the non-COVID absences in Chicago on Thursday were running back David Montgomery (illness), tight end Cole Kmet (illness), tackle Jason Peters (ankle) and tackle Teven Jenkins. Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks (ankle), who hasn't played since Nov. 8, was a full participant.

Co-defensive coordinator Andre Patterson was asked how the coaching staff goes about addressing the costly taunting penalty by cornerback Kris Boyd, who stood over Steelers receiver James Washington after tackling him for a loss. Instead of a long third down, Pittsburgh got an extra 15 yards and eventually scored a touchdown to kickstart their comeback effort.

"He got it from a lot of different people," Patterson said. "He got it from guys on the field; he got it from Zim when he first hit the sideline; he got it from me once I saw him on the sideline. It was addressed immediately, and in very stern fashion. I wish he wouldn't have done that and, hopefully, he feels that way now, too."