Seeking depth at center, Redskins acquire Bryan Stork from Patriots

Ever since Kory Lichtensteiger missed 11 games last season, the Washington Redskins have been seeking dependable depth at the center position.

Josh LeRibeus transitioned from guard to center last preseason and started in Lichtensteiger’s absence but was inconsistent. Spencer Long, who started 13 games at left guard in 2015 while Shawn Lauvao was out with a left ankle injury, has been tasked with learning the position this preseason. The Redskins also have Austin Reiter, who was drafted in the seventh round last year and spent the entire season on the practice squad.

The Redskins continued that search on Wednesday when they acquired third-year center Bryan Stork from the New England Patriots in exchange for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2017.

It was a bizarre sequence of events, as Stork was informed on Wednesday morning that he was being released by the Patriots, and then later traded to the Redskins. According to multiple reports, Stork, who has sustained four concussions since his senior season at Florida State, was also mulling retirement after he was traded.

Stork sustained his most recent concussion on the third day of Patriots training camp and also was ejected last week from joint practices with the Chicago Bears for fighting. When healthy, Stork plays with the type of tenacity and toughness Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan has come to desire in his search for “football players,” a term he uses regularly to describe players who love the grind and possess a team-first mentality.

He began the 2015 season on the injured reserve list with a concussion and a neck injury, but returned to play the final eight regular-season games, as well as New England’s two playoff games. Because of injuries to the Patriots’ offensive line last season, Stork also played guard and tackle at times.

Stork played 13 games, including 11 starts, as a rookie for the Patriots in 2014 and started in their Super Bowl victory against the Seattle Seahawks. He was drafted in the fourth round in 2014.

Lichtensteiger pinched a nerve in his neck last season that sapped the strength from his left arm, but he returned for the team’s wild-card round loss to the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs.

He returned to training camp healthy and resumed his reps with the first team and has started the first two preseason games. Long has started at left guard and is battling with Lauvao for the starting job. Lauvao sustained a lateral left ankle fracture in Week 3 last season and had a total of five surgeries on his feet and legs in the offseason.

The Redskins like the strides Long has made at center, though the nuances of the position, such as new blocking techniques, identifying protections and managing the snap count take time to get used to.

“I have liked how he has really bought into it and learned and got better,” coach Jay Gruden said on Wednesday. “He’s really gotten lightyears better from when he first started. When he first started, I almost didn’t let him continue to play there.

“But the snaps… There are so many things a center has to do. It starts with the snaps, the snap count, obviously the identification, the communication is all very, very important. He’s got a great skillset to be a center but there is more to it than that and he is really picking up on the intricacies of the position and he has come a long way from when he first started. I feel very comfortable with him going into the season if something – knock on wood – would happen to Kory that he could step in there and play. He has done a good job.”

Throughout training camp and continuing into the preseason, the workload has been heavy for Long, who often takes first-team snaps at left guard and then takes backup reps at center shortly after. While it has been challenging at times, Long said the switch has helped him become a more confident player overall.

“The key is just to stay poised and not get overwhelmed by it and be confident in your knowledge,” Long said earlier in training camp. “Just trust in yourself and get in your books at night and make sure you have both positions down. But as a center, you have to know what the whole line is doing and helps in the grand scheme, my knowledge at guard as well. It helps confirm my calls on both ends.”

With the addition of Stork, it is possible Long can focus more heavily on left guard. Reiter, who spent all of last season on the practice squad, is still developing in his second season. LeRibeus, meanwhile, has been taking most of his reps as a second-team guard after his transition to center last season.

Aside from Lichtensteiger and Reiter, the Redskins did not have a true center on the roster that can add depth, which is something they’ve desired. They took a step closer to finding that on Wednesday by acquiring Stork.