Rams rumors true: Rams free agency adds G Oday Aboushi to PS

The LA Rams were rumored to have had free agent offensive lineman Oday Aboushi on their radar more than a month ago.

Well, it turns out that the rumors were true, as today’s report from the LA Rams confirms. But first of all, let’s examine where the LA Rams offensive line stands today. For starters, we know that the LA Rams opted to go light on the offensive line, keeping just eight on their initial 53-man roster. They are starters Joe Noteboom (MCL strain), David Edwards, Brian Allen (out 2-4 weeks), Coleman Shelton, and Rob Havenstein.

Backups include Tremayne Anchrum, Bobby Evans, and Alaric ‘AJ’ Jackson.

With Allen out, the LA Rams will move Coleman Shelton to the center position and backfill his spot with Tremayne Anchrum. That leaves a questionable Noteboom at left tackle, and only two offensive linemen remaining who can serve as backups. Worse yet, no player on the active roster is prepared to play offensive center.

And so, the Rams signed backup center Jeremiah Kolone from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster. Then the Rams signed veteran FA offensive lineman Oday Aboushi to the practice squad to fill that open roster spot.

Kolone is the only player who makes sense to join the active roster. The LA Rams need a backup center, and Kolone is the last guy remaining on the roster with any offensive center experience worth mentioning.

LA Rams Rumors: Okay with Oday

But the player to keep an eye on is Oday Aboushi. If you recall, we named him as a player to keep an eye on several weeks ago, as the Rams offensive line unexpectedly lost rookie Logan Bruss for the season.

Now he is on the LA Rams practice squad. What should we expect? For starters, he is a 6-foot-5, 308-pound powerhouse who is an eight-year veteran in the NFL. He has played with and protected LA Rams veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford in 2019 and 2020, and played for the LA Chargers in 2021.

LA Rams free agency signing another diamond in the rough?

Per Pro Football Focus, he played 298 offensive snaps in 2021 and allowed no sacks. In the two seasons with the Detroit Lions in 2019-20, he played 765 offensive snaps and allowed just one sack.

"“Aboushi, 31, was absolutely dominant during limited playing time last season for the Los Angeles Chargers, not allowing a single sack en route to a 68.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in 298 offensive snaps, all of which were at right guard.On the surface, Aboushi makes a lot of sense along a veteran offensive line, especially when starting guards and Coleman Shelton are coming off mediocre campaigns. [David] Edwards produced a 66.9 overall grade while allowing 6.0 sacks, and Shelton finished with a 57.7 mark while playing just 216 offensive snaps,” Matt Lombardo as quoted by Heavy Sports.com Lorenzo Reyna"

The Rams seem to agree. While the Rams will likely need to coach up and assess Aboushi’s potential in the Rams offense, the performance of offensive lineman David Edwards was not stellar.

And Aboushi has been more than a serviceable player for the Chargers while boasting the ability to play well in protecting Matthew Stafford during their time together with the Lions.

I like this signing and hope that Aboushi becomes a dependable offensive lineman for the LA Rams. From what we’d seen in Week 1, the team may need all the offensive line help that the team can get.