The Patriots traded center Bryan Stork to the Redskins, but he could retire

The Bryan Story story has taken more twists and turns than a late-summer ride at the amusement park.

 

First, it was reported that the New England Patriots were planning on releasing their third-year center, who started in their Super Bowl XLIX win as a rookie in the 2014 season. Then word arose that the Washington Redskins, seeking an upgrade, had sent a conditional draft pick to the Patriots for Stork.

Then came another odd turn: Was the concussion-plagued Stork, 25, considering retiring instead of joining his new team?

	Brian McNally @bmcnally14
Okay - fluid situation at #Redskins Park. Source says Bryan Stork is considering retirement. Team clearly working to convince otherwise 1:02 PM - 24 Aug 2016 from Washington, DC

If Stork retires, the Redskins would owe the Patriots nothing in return. Several reports suggested that the cost was a conditional seventh-round pick.

The Redskins likely traded for Stork because they probably felt he would be claimed by a team with a higher waiver priority than themselves. From the day after the Super Bowl until the third week of the 2016 season, the waiver order is determined by the reverse order of finish last season. The Redskins, who made the playoffs, would be one of the later teams to have a crack at a player such as Stork. The Patriots are expected to receive a conditional draft pick in return, one likely lower than the fourth-round choice they used to take him in 2014.

The Redskins were seeking to fill a position of need. Kory Lichtensteiger and Josh LeRibeus struggled at the position last season. Stork is a one-position player with an extremely tough and surly disposition, but he also has been beset by injuries in his brief career. He started only six games last season in the Patriots’ ever-rotating offensive line, spending a big chunk of the season on the injured list. Stork suffered a concussion in training camp this year, missed a week’s worth of action and has a history of them dating back to Florida State.

Despite this, Stork seemed to be fully committed to playing football until recently.

	Chris Mason @Chris_J_Mason
If Stork is retiring, it's quite a strong departure from what he told @tomecurran earlier this month. pic.twitter.com/I7ya1QElOp 1:14 PM - 24 Aug 2016

Stork also was worked over in the AFC championship game in January — a game in which the Denver Broncos might have had a big tell on Stork’s snapping, which led them to snow Tom Brady under much of the game. He had a costly unnecessary roughness penalty in the game as well for head-butting Broncos defensive lineman Vance Walker that cost the Patriots valuable field position and perhaps was an example of Stork’s temper boiling over.

Former Patriots offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo was seen getting spoken to sternly by head coach Bill Belichick in that game, and the absence of DeGuglielmo now — he was fired in the offseason — and the return of former OL coach Dante Scarnecchia might also have had something to do with Stork’s release. Although Scarnecchia was aiding the team with scouting the offseason they drafted Stork, it’s possible that the meet-the-new-boss-same-as-the-old-boss position coach has a different idea of what he wants inside.

Either way, this is now the fifth member of the Patriots’ 2014 draft class whom the team has let go, including first-rounder Dominique Easley. (Jon Halapio was cut before re-signing this offseason.) Second-round quarterback Jimmy Garappolo and fourth-round running back James White will play important fill-in roles this season, especially in the early going, which could help this class from being an almost total bust.

This pushes David Andrews to the head of the line now as the Patriots’ starting center. By all accounts so far this training camp, Andrews had outplayed Stork. Andrews, a 2015 undrafted rookie, did a remarkable job as the primary starter last season, and he is backed up by Josh Kline, who now has a better chance of making the roster because of the Stork transaction.

Stork also might not have done himself many favors with his fight last week that got him kicked out of joint practices with the Chicago Bears.

The Redskins want to add toughness inside and hope to have added two unexpected starters from contenders (along with cornerback Josh Norman) that few expected to be released when they were. But that could require the team to talk Stork into reporting.