Brian

Schwenke

This comes as a surprise after Schwenke repped with the first-team offense at OTAs. Losing Schwenke is a hit to New England’s interior line depth. The Patriots have Ted Karras and fourth-rounder Hjalte Froholdt behind LG Joe Thuney.

Schwenke played four offensive snaps for the Super Bowl champs last season before being placed on I.R. with a foot injury in November. Schwenke, 28 next month, will be no lock to make the final 53-man roster out of camp.

Schwenke would technically be eligible for return during the playoffs, but the Pats are not going to use one of those spots on a backup center. Schwenke had made just three appearances this season, making zero starts.

The Titans had Schwenke as their No. 1 rated center in the draft, and the team has already made it clear they expect him to compete for a starting position as a rookie.

The Titans reportedly “love” Schwenke’s “nastiness” and his “ability,” and they had him rated as the No. 1 center in the draft. Fernando Velasco is the incumbent starter, and he just signed his one-year, $2.023 million RFA tender. Pro Football Focus graded Velasco out as the league’s No. 11 center in 2012, but his salary is not guaranteed. Schwenke should start no later than 2014.

Schwenke (6-foot-3, 314) started 36 games at Cal, learning to zone block under coach Jeff Tedford. He’s a zone-scheme fit. With 32-inch arms, Schwenke will have to stay on the interior in the pros but saw college starts at left guard, center, and right guard. Pac-12 coaches voted him first-team all-conference as a senior center, as Schwenke allowed only three QB hurries and was called for just one penalty. He scored a 31 on the Wonderlic. Schwenke is very quick at snapping and pulling, and will be a part of the transformation for the Titans’ interior offensive line.

This is probably just coachspeak since Velasco recently re-signed for $2.023 million and is coming off a strong season, but the Titans will and should consider every possibility along an interior line that’s long been a trouble spot. Schwenke’s presence does make it more likely that the Titans will allow Velasco to walk next offseason if he’s less than stellar this season.

It’s expected to be a scope to repair a high ankle sprain Schwenke suffered in early November. Schwenke wound up starting all nine of his appearances and playing down the stretch, but at noticeably less than 100 percent. “It’s just some of the buildup of scar tissues and things like that, from playing on it,” he said. Schwenke is likely to return as the Titans’ starting center in 2014.

The former starter at center, Schwenke lost his job when the Titans added Ben Jones in free agency. At worst he should serve as Jones’ backup, but he will be given a shot to beat out Quinton Spain at left guard. Sophomore Jeremiah Poutasi and rookie Sebastian Tretola will also be in the mix.

This seems like an agent-driven report from NFL Network, but we note those nonetheless. A fourth-round pick in the 2013 draft, Schwenke got destroyed as a starting center his first two seasons with Tennessee, and lost his starting job last year. Schwenke should be signable on a backup-caliber contract.