The New England Patriots made two somewhat noteworthy roster moves Wednesday morning, releasing former starting center Bryan Stork and veteran receiver Nate Washington.
The Patriots are releasing third-year center Bryan Stork and wide receiver Nate Washington. Stork started as rookie C for '14 SB team.
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) August 24, 2016
The release of Washington isn’t necessarily too much of a surprise. He was brought in on a non-guaranteed deal during the winter. The idea there was for the 11-year veteran to compete for a roster spot.
When it became clear that Washington was stuck behind younger, higher-upside receivers on the depth chart, his spot on the 53-man roster seemed iffy.
Though, the release of Stork should come as a pretty big surprise. A former fourth-round pick of the Pats back in 2014, Stork started 11 games for the team as a rookie, including its Super Bowl win over the Seattle Seahawks.
A Florida State alum, Stork had been dealing with concussion issues over the past year or so. He missed the first eight games of last season due to said problems.
Stork’s release comes amid reports that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady preferred
David Andrews to be the team’s starting center.