LA Rams: 4 free agent offensive linemen who are still available

The LA Rams are through their first NFL offseason wave of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and the coaching staff is regrouping and reformulating. Who will be the starters? Who will fill the rotational roles? Who will contribute to special teams? And finally, who will be waived? Of that group, the team will need to determine who will be signed to the team’s practice squad.

While those decisions have yet to be made, there is a second set of decisions to make for this team. For the LA Rams starters, will the starting offensive line of Andrew Whitworth, David Edwards, Austin Corbett, Bobby Evans, and Rob Havenstein withstand the test of a 17-game season, plus the additional play of the NFL post-season? For that matter, is this combination the absolute best that the Rams can do? Or was the decision to settle on this configuration driven by affordability, rather than durability, or just plain ole ability?

At times, it certainly appears as those it’s the price tag that is forcing the Rams to settle. After all, this roster is predominantly filled with young inexpensive players in sheer numbers, but dominated by a few highly paid elite players on the salary cap side. That’s created a bit of a vacuum in some areas of the roster.

While the coaching staff continues to push the belief that the offensive line is good enough with Bobby Evans in a starting role, I’m not exactly convinced. If Evans struggles at the right guard position, we know all too well that his teammates, in this case, Austin Corbett and Rob Havenstein, will attempt to compensate and will themselves suffer as a result.  That won’t do. No, that won’t do at all.

Perhaps it would be wise to bring in veteran free agents now for a preemptive strike. After all, the Rams will be in need of help in 2022, and it’s unclear who, if any, of the team’s expiring contracts among the offensive linemen will even be targetted for renewal. For the current season, I don’t think the Rams need wholesale changes whatsoever. But one more dependable veteran along the offensive line could make an incredibly positive impact. So who should the Rams look at? Here are four free agents who are still available

Offensive guard

Offensive guard  Trai Turner would bring a vital bit of experience and talent to the LA Rams interior offensive line, a combination that is sorely lacking. While the Rams do have some talented young players, the team’s experience is anchored at booked offensive tackles Andrew Whitworth and Rob Havenstein.  While Whitworth is more than happy to work with younger players, the action changes significantly for an offensive lineman as they move towards the center.

Turner last played for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020, where he struggled a bit with injuries. Prior to that, he was a dependable interior offensive lineman. However, he wore out his welcome after a poor showing in 2020 coupled with a huge contract with the Los Angeles Chargers.

His market price is substantially less now, and that places him in the price range of the LA Rams.

Turner is already getting some attention from the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are also in need of offensive line reinforcements. While he may not be positioned for a Pro Bowl season, he is a savvy veteran who is already quite familiar with playing football in the Los Angeles area. He disappointed the Chargers, but he could be a key piece to the LA Rams if they give him a chance.

The Rams do not currently have a veteran interior lineman. Isn’t it about time to change that? If not, there are more free agents to consider.

Offensive tackle

If the LA Rams are interested in adding a player who the LA Rams coaching staff is familiar with, then offensive right tackle Morgan Moses might be the right player to bring in for a tryout. You see, he played for the Washington Football team since 2014, which means that head coach Sean McVay, offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, and offensive line coach Kevin Carberry have all had an opportunity to work with him.

Moses is a huge-bodied offensive lineman who is undoubtedly going to be signed. He is coming out of a solid 2020 season, where he pretty much had his way against some pretty impressive defensive linemen. Would he be content to slide into a starting offensive guard position? Perhaps.  But if the Rams were able to add him to the roster, finding the right combination would certainly be a secondary issue.

Moses would be a nice addition to the LA Rams roster. Right now, the New York Jets are making a strong push to sign Moses, and they have been working towards a multi-year deal.

That does not eliminate the LA Rams from the running, but rather will force the Rams front office to move very quickly if the team has an interest in signing him. He is a solid addition to any offensive line.

Offensive center

The LA Rams certainly have a need for veteran offensive center Brett Jones’ type of play and his positional experience. A five-year veteran, Jones had his best season as a 2017 starter for the New York Giants.

Los Angeles Rams

Since then, he has been a bit of a depth player, used for spot starts when the first team center is out with a minor injury. That is not a slam on his ability. He has played behind some solid offensive linemen, and he has shown the ability to produce whenever the situation warranted stepping up to help the team out. That type of player can be the difference between a Super Bowl victory and an early trip home from the playoffs.

Jones himself has battled through several minor injuries as well, and that has not helped him break out of the cycle of inexpensive one-year prove-it deals that has been the majority of his NFL playing days. He plays well enough when needed to earn another one-year contract, but he is injured often enough to negate the likelihood of a long-term deal.

His 138 offensive snaps were good enough in Pro Football Focus’s eyes to grade him at a very impressive 77.6 in 2020. That in turn has piqued the interest of at least one NFL team.

Of course, interest is not the same as an imminent signing. Right now, the Rams have swapped in Austin Corbett as the offensive center. While I am not entirely concerned with his play, I believe restoring Corbett to the right guard and backfilling the center position with a veteran would be a wise direction for the Rams to consider. I’m a bit nervous about Bobby Evans showing up a the anointed starter in 2021 without of proven ability to play at the necessary level of play.  Jones is a proven offensive center who could try out for the Rams now. Still not convinced? We have one more free agent to consider.

Offensive center

It only makes logical sense for the LA Rams to try out former Kansas City Chiefs offensive center Austin Reiter, particularly after those same Chiefs signed Rams free-agent center Austin Blythe to a very team-friendly contract.  In fact, the Chiefs’ drafted one of the offensive centers that were very intriguing to the LA Rams as well, Creed Humphrey.

The Chiefs did not feel that they could come to an agreement with Reiter’s contract demands, and so they approached the center position with both a veteran and a rookie option. The LA Rams have taken a different approach, namely rearranging the existing roster to absorb the loss.

But as we had pointed out before, the LA Rams lack real experience at the interior offensive line positions and have relied upon the generosity of Andrew Whitworth to help mentor younger offensive linemen. Adding Reiter will do two immediate positive impacts on the LA Rams offensive line. First, it adds a versatile, Super-Bowl caliber offensive center to the starting line. Secondly, and perhaps incredibly important, adding Reiter adds one of the best pass-blocking centers in the NFL to the Rams roster, just in time to protect one of the best passers in the NFL.

Reiter feels like a slam-dunk addition to the Rams offensive line.

Of course, the Rams are gonna do what the Rams are gonna do. But, in the grand scheme of strategic moves, signing offensive center Austin Reiter appears to be a much wiser move for the LA Rams to take to get to Super Bowl LVI as the NFC representative than adding a fast rookie wide receiver in the second-round who may or may not return punts for the Rams his year.