Injury outbreak may hold silver lining for LA Rams offensive line

Injury outbreak: Deja vu all over again

But nobody could have guessed how quickly injuries would begin to take a toll on the team’s starters. And yet, when it rains, it pours, right? We know that the LA Rams had a horrendous debut in the season opener against the Buffalo Bills. But in the aftermath, some important facts as to the cause of that disappointing performance are coming to light.

While that is bad news on the surface, at least Allen will not try to play through the pain at a less-than-100-percent health. In 2021, the team benched Allen in Week 13 to allow him to properly heal from an elbow injury suffered in Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans, and a knee injury against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  The Rams turned to backup center Coleman Shelton.

In response, RB Sony Michel began to gain huge chunks of real estate on the ground. In fact, in the two games where Shelton played the most, 67 snaps in Week 13, and 70 snaps in Week 16, Sony Michel was able to run for 121 yards and 131 yards, respectively. Michel also scored one touchdown in each game, accounting for two of his four TDs in the season.

Now, it appears that the Rams will be starting Shelton as the center for at least the next two to four weeks. If he plays well? Then perhaps Shelton will carry the team to the BYE week. If he plays great? Who knows?