Patriots Trade Center Bryan Stork

BY ESPN

The New England Patriots have traded former starting center Bryan Stork to the Washington Redskins for a conditional seventh-round draft pick.

The agreement between the teams, first reported by the NFL Network and confirmed by ESPN, came after Stork had been informed by the Patriots that they planned to release him.

The Patriots also released veteran wide receiver Nate Washington on Wednesday. That move was first reported by CSN New England and later confirmed by ESPN.

The Patriots' decision to cut ties with Stork comes as a mild surprise even as he was losing his hold on the top spot of the depth chart to second-year blocker David Andrews.

Stork, who was selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, played in 25 games for the team, including the playoffs, during the past two seasons (21 starts). He sustained multiple concussions in that time, opening the 2015 season on the injured reserve list because of a concussion.

"It's tough," said quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who was picked by the Patriots in the same draft class as Stork. "It's that time of year. There's a lot of movement between teams and players and everything. It's tough to see one of your guys go like that. That's the business, I guess."

With Stork sidelined at the start of last season, Andrews, an undrafted free agent out of Georgia, started the first 10 games of the season and performed well before Stork returned as the starter.

 In an action that could result in their first-round selection sitting out for the foreseeable future, the Chargers announced they have pulled their offer to defensive end Joey Bosa after he declined to accept the team's "best offer" on Wednesday.

Points of contention in the contract impasse still include offset language and the earlier payment of deferred signing bonus money. Bosa's representatives called the team's move "unfortunate."

The Chargers said in a statement that they presented Bosa with an offer Tuesday night that included:

an initial signing bonus payment that is larger than any rookie has received in the past two NFL drafts;

more money in 2016 than every rookie in this year's class except the Philadelphia Eagles' Carson Wentz;

the "largest payment and the highest percentage of signing bonus received in the first calendar year" of any Chargers first-round pick since the adoption of the NFL's collective bargaining agreement in 2011.

The Chargers said Bosa, who was selected No. 3 in the 2016 draft, rejected the offer Wednesday.

Chicago Bears

Quarterback Jay Cutler tried to soften the seriousness of Kyle Long's shoulder injury, but Long's health remains a major storyline with the regular-season opener less than three weeks away. Long did not practice for a fourth straight day since he injured the shoulder in last week's preseason loss at New England. Coach John Fox provided no update on Long, who is the best offensive lineman on Chicago's roster. With Long essentially out for the next two exhibition games, at the bare minimum, the question becomes whether he can practice the week of the season opener Sept. 11. Losing Long would be devastating for Chicago. -- Jeff Dickerson

Indianapolis Colts

Colts offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski opened his weekly media session Wednesday by talking about how good it was to finally have QB Andrew Luck back after a flawless performance (8-of-8) against Baltimore last weekend. Chudzinski had Luck healthy for only one game last season before losing him to a lacerated kidney. "All the things that you can say that are the superlatives about Andrew you say," Chudzinski said. "He's got a presence. He's a leader. He can take things from the classroom to the field." -- Mike Wells