LA Rams news: 2019 offensive line woes have a 2020 silver lining

Surgical sweepstakes

Uncertainty exists today because the 2019 season was a nightmare of extreme misfortunes. Logically speaking, 40 percent of the Rams 2019 roster was hit hard by injures. That includes 100 percent of the Rams offensive line. No NFL team can be expected to win games when their entire offensive line is injured in a single season.  None. And it’s well-known and documented that the LA Rams had to add NFL players in mid-season, two of whom reinforced a very shallow offensive line.

Left tackle Andrew Whitworth had off-season surgery to clean up his ankle. While just minor surgery, it’s a troublesome area for an offensive lineman to play through pain in an ankle during an NFL game.  While some will argue it won’t improve his performance much, I certainly would assert that a fully healthy Whitworth at left tackle is better than Whitworth playing on a bum ankle. So this is an improvement over 2019.

Almost at the same time, interior offensive lineman Austin Blythe had both shoulders operated on. He played through the season despite the injuries on both shoulders and ankle. Once again, Blythe transitioned over as a starting center for the team. Once more, I assert that a fully healthy Austin Blythe is far better than Blythe playing on a bum ankle and with two bad shoulders.

They were the two offensive linemen who were the most dependable in 2019. Now fully healed, their play should improve simply due to better health.