LA Rams: 7 players who could be surprise cuts in 2021

Undersized offensive center

Once the starting offensive center for the LA Rams, Brian Allen is fighting for a roster spot. He was injured in 2019 after a poor debut as a starting center, and his rehabilitation carried through the 2020 offseason (well, the three or so weeks of it). The team moved on without him, and now his rehabbed knee and his 2019 performance may be cause enough for the team to do so again.

So what happened in 2019? Well, he was handed a starting role in 2019, taking over for the retired John Sullivan. Despite the coaches’ confidence, he was often overmatched at the point of attack. Not only did Allen appear undersized and underpowered, but he had terrible optics when calling blocking schemes or making quick decisions over who to block. The results were alarming, he would choose to double team a defender to one side, but allow the defender on the other side to get to the quarterback uncontested.

Reviewing footage of the 2019 season left me speechless. Allen himself may have been partially responsible for the injury outbreak along the offensive line. After he himself was injured, the wave of crippling bang-ups seemed to recede. Since that time, he has been rehabbing, getting stronger, and working his way back to consideration for another chance. The LA Rams may have other ideas, though.

After the departure of Austin Blythe, the natural move would have been to give Allen a shot at reclaiming his starting role. That pretty much says where Allen falls in the depth chart, and with so many players leapfrogging him into backup roles, the Rams will likely have little choice but to give him his release in the hopes that he catches one with another NFL team.