LA Rams starting offensive center, Brian Allen, is paying it forward

Rams’ rehab: The long and winding road

While we can speculate in What if…? scenarios for a very long time, the reality is that Allen assumed his rehab work with the team just as the COVID-19 outbreak occurred, and Allen was the first NFL player to test positive for the disease.

That derailed his rehab and derailed any hope of his participation in the 2020 NFL season. It could be that the team sign undrafted rookie center Cohl Cabral ‘just in case,’ Allen was unable to turn the corner. Just to review, Allen was out half of the 2019 season, and for the entirety of the 2020 season.

Rams Roster: Flipping to Plan C

When the LA Rams lost offensive lineman Austin Blythe to free agency, the team did not address the offensive line via the draft. The plan was stated repeatedly in the offseason. The team would either:

I – Slide guard Austin Corbett to offensive center, and backfill his position with versatile offensive lineman Bobby Evans.

II – Insert backup offensive center, Coleman Shelton, into the vacated spot on the offensive line.

III – Restore former starting offensive center Brian Allen into his starting role, as long as he was medically cleared to do so and he could hold up in the position.

It appeared that from the moment that the pads went on, the LA Rams coaching staff had a sudden and complete change of heart as to how to configure their offensive line. Swiss army knife, Bobby Evans, was not working out at the guard position. A tackle by trade, he has been underwhelming at the guard position.

But perhaps more surprising was the struggle of Corbett to effectively snap the football in pads. While he had played center in his career, he had settled in at offensive guard and the transition back to center was too great of a change on the fly. So almost overnight, the Rams restored Corbett to guard and installed Brian Allen as the starting center.