Patriots Trade Bryan Stork To Redskins
5:18pm: If Stork does retire in the wake of the trade, he’ll owe the Redskins half of his $477K signing bonus – $238,500 – in addition to losing his 2016 salary of $600K, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
4:37pm: The Redskins have officially announced the trade, which seemingly indicates that Stork is not going to retire.
2:15pm: The Redskins traded a conditional seventh-round pick to Patriots for Stork, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
1:49pm: Turns out, the Patriots didn’t cut Bryan Stork after all. The center has been traded to the Redskins, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
On Wednesday morning, it was reported that the Patriots were set to release Stork. Instead, the Redskins swooped in and offered up a conditional draft pick for the veteran center.
Stork can provide some much needed depth for the Redskins at center. Starter Kory Lichtensteiger was limited to five games last season and would-be backup Spencer Long is ticketed to play left guard with Shawn Lauvao sidelined. Josh LeRibeus is the team’s other option at center, but he struggled in that role in 2015.
Stork, 25 (26 in November), emerged as the Patriots’ starting center just four weeks into his rookie season in 2014, and finished the year there. Pro Football Focus’ grades suggested that Stork’s performance was somewhat up and down, but most of his worst performances came during the first half of the season. In 2015, Stork suffered a concussion which limited him to just eight games.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bryan Stork Considering Retirement
Bryan Stork has spent more time on the front page of PFR than we could have ever imagined. This morning, Stork was supposedly on the verge of being released by the Patriots. This afternoon, he was traded to the Redskins. Now, there’s word that the center could just retire instead, as Brian McNally of 106.7 The Fan tweets. The Redskins are working to change Stork’s mind. 
The proposed trade between the Pats and Redskins calls for Washington to send a conditional seventh-round pick to New England. Right now, it sounds like the pick won’t be conveyed to the Pats and the center won’t be conveyed to the Redskins.
If the deal is nixed, it’s probably worse news for the Redskins than the Patriots. The Pats were set to release him outright and receive nothing in return. The Redskins, meanwhile, were banking on him to hold down the No. 2 center job.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
10 Teams That Could Claim RB Karlos Williams
After waiving him yesterday, the Bills “fully expect” another NFL club to land running back Karlos Williams, and we’ll find out tomorrow if any other team decided to place a claim (the waiver period is typically 24 hours, but rolls over until Monday on weekends). If no one else is interested, Williams will become a free agent. But given that Williams’ (minimal) signing bonus will accelerate onto Buffalo’s cap –meaning that any acquiring team would only be on the hook for minimum salaries for the next three years — it seems likely that Williams will get claimed.
Clearly, there are reasons to be concerned about Williams’ future. He’ll be suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season after violating the league’s substance abuse policy, and he’s struggled with his weight throughout the offseason. At one point, Williams was up 261 pounds, and after losing some of that heft, he’d reportedly begun to balloon once again, leaving the Bills to wonder if he was serious about football.
But Williams also flashed dynamic ability during his rookie season, finishing with 613 yards from scrimmage and nine TDs on just 104 touches while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. The 23-year-old also became one of just two players in NFL history to score a touchdown in each of his first six games in the league. All in all, Williams seemingly defines an old adage: high risk, high reward.
Let’s take a look at several teams that could be interested in Williams, listed in order of their waiver priority:
Cleveland Browns — New head coach Hue Jackson is trying to foster a new culture with the Browns, but he’s also shown a willingness to give players a second chance. He’s embraced wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was recently reinstated from a season-long suspension, and he stood by running back Isaiah Crowell after the latter posted a disturbing image online. Crowell and Duke Johnson figure to get most of the run for Cleveland during the upcoming season, but the club should be stockpiling talent during its rebuild, and Williams would be a cheap upgrade.
San Diego Chargers — San Diego had high hopes for its rushing attack after trading up to select Melvin Gordon in the first round of last year’s draft, but offensive line injuries and Gordon’s own poor play led to the Chargers finishing 31st in rushing DVOA. Gordon then had microfracture surgery in January, and while his long-term prognosis is positive, serious knee injuries are always unwelcome news for young running backs. It looks like Gordon is already losing work to Danny Woodhead during the preseason, and if the Chargers think Gordon is in for another sub-par season, they could take a risk on Williams.
Baltimore Ravens — This is only my speculation, but given that he’s on the wrong side of 30, coming off injury, and due a non-guaranteed $3MM base salary, veteran running back Justin Forsett could be a surprise cut as roster cutdowns approach. Such a move would be made much easier if the Ravens were able to acquire a talent like Williams, who could slot in the backfield after his suspension, teaming with Javorius Allen, Terrance West, Kenneth Dixon, and perhaps Lorenzo Taliaferro. Baltimore has taken chances on character risks in the past, though the club was burned by safety Will Hill, with whom they cut ties after he was handed a 10-game suspension.
Philadelphia Eagles — Like the Browns, the Eagles haven’t been afraid to collect players who are considered character risks, as evidenced by their trade for receiver Dorial Green-Beckham last week. Philadelphia is hoping it can turn around the career of DGB, who struggled with both motivation and learning the Titans’ playbook, and they could place a similar bet on Williams. Like DGB, Williams clearly has talent, and the Eagles could use another option alongside Ryan Mathews, Kenjon Barner, Darren Sproles, and Wendell Smallwood. Turron Davenport of USA Today recently looked at how Williams could succeed in the type of outside zone runs employed by the Eagles.
Tandler: Five Redskins On Roster Bubble
- Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com takes a look at five Redskins currently on the roster bubble, a list headlined by LB Perry Riley.
Redskins Waive Kevin Bowen
- The Redskins have waived offensive tackle Kevin Bowen with an injury designation, per Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post (Twitter link).
Redskins Roster Projections
- In predicting the Redskins‘ linebackers on the 53-man roster, Mike Jones of the Washington Post cautions not to be surprised if the team’s tenth and final linebacker is on another team’s roster at this time.
Redskins Have Several Tough Roster Decisions
- Rich Tandler of RealRedskins.com writes that the Redskins were expected to only carry a pair of quarterbacks on their roster (Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy) with the hope that rookie Nate Sudfeld would end up on the practice squad. However, Tandler writes that the signal-caller is making a case to make the roster.
- Tandler notes that cornerback Greg Toler‘s play has led to some tough decisions for the Redskins coaching staff. If the former fourth-rounder ended up on the team, the organization would either cut Quinton Dunbar or Dashaun Phillips, although the team’s lack of safeties makes the latter unlikely.
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Could Pierre Thomas Be A Fit For Redskins?
- Pierre Thomas ended last season with the Redskins, and ESPN.com’s John Keim believes the team could still use the free agent. The team has some talented running backs in Matt Jones, Keith Marshall, and Chris Thompson, but the writer believes the organization may still be seeking some reinforcement at the position. Considering his experience and familiarity with the organization, Thomas would appear to be a natural fit.
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Tyrod Taylor's Contract Unlikely To Impact Kirk Cousins
- Taylor’s accord is unlikely to impact Redskins franchise-tagged quarterback Kirk Cousins, writes JP Finlay of CSN Mid-Atlantic. The two are vastly different players, for one, and Cousins, at $19.95MM, is already set to more than double Taylor’s salary this year. Both before and after tagging him, the Redskins reportedly offered Cousins $16MM per year and $24MM in guarantees on a long-term deal. While the former figure is in line with Taylor’s new average annual salary, the guaranteed sum is nearly three times higher than Taylor’s total. Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough for Cousins, whom the Redskins failed to sign to a multiyear deal by the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players. Like Taylor, he’ll once again try to prove himself this season.
Talent Evaluators Down On Cousins?
Does Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins resent his one-year franchise tender deal? That’s not the case, says Mike Jones of the Washington Post, since Cousins’ camp knew where the team stood heading into the offseason. Cousins and his agent have a lot of respect for GM Scot McCloughan and coach Jay Gruden, Jones writes, and nothing changed throughout the negotiation process. Ultimately, Cousins is embracing the challenge of proving himself again and is confident that he will cash in after a strong 2016.
- Cousins seems poised to cash in if the Redskins allow him to hit the open market, but it seems like some league officials do not hold Cousins in high esteem. ESPN.com’s Mike Sando (Insider sub. req’d) spoke to “ten GMs, five head coaches, seven offensive coordinators, five defensive coordinators, eight personnel evaluators, and seven other position coaches/execs” to get their ranking of the league’s quarterbacks. Cousins was rated 20th in the NFL, which puts him in the third tier at this position. Of course, those same officials will surely bump Cousins up the board if he is able to reprise his 2015 performance. It’s also worth considering that established quarterbacks rarely hit free agency and, when they do, their market is exceptionally strong. Case in point: Brock Osweiler is now the 16th highest-paid QB in the NFL on a per-year basis and most football people would not consider him to be in the top half of starting signal callers. All in all, the survey’s view of Cousins is surprising, but it may not mean much for his potential free agent value.