LA Rams beginning to show first signs of normalcy

The first sign of normalcy for the LA Rams roster has appeared. No, it’s not a seven-sack afternoon for the LA Rams defensive front. Nor is it a 300-yard 3+ touchdown performance for veteran QB Matthew Stafford. It’s not even another NFL award bestowed to All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald.

No, no, no. The LA Rams’ first sign of normalcy is the fact that a player who began the season on the practice squad is back on that practice squad. He is backup offensive center Jeremiah Kolone, a young man who was promoted into action due to the LA Rams’ injuries to starting offensive center Brian Allen and then to backup offensive center and starting right guard Coleman Shelton.

Due to the outbreak of offensive linemen injuries, Kolone was signed to the team’s active 53-man roster on September 14, 2022. Initially, Kolone’s work was exclusively special teams related. But when the Rams lost both Brian Allen after Game 1, then Coleman Shelton during Game 3, Kolone became a very important stop-gap solution for the Rams’ offensive line woes.

He has returned to the practice squad now.

But there is still a bit of confusion here.

IOL Skura appears to be the primary OC backup

With the Rams restoring Brian Allen to active duty alone, who is backing up Allen? The answer to that question is veteran IOL Matt Skura, a veteran interior offensive lineman who is entering his sixth NFL season. Skura has appeared in 69 games over that time frame and started in 65 of those contests.

Kolone’s return to the team’s practice squad not only indicates that the team is confident in his ability to start for the Rams in Game 7, but it is also a huge vote of confidence in Matt Skura’s ability to step into a starting center role for the Rams offensive line if necessary.

The LA Rams practice squad now boasts four offensive linemen: IOL Jeremiah Kolone, OT Chandler Brewer, rookie OT A.J. Arcuri, and IPP OT Max Pircher. That appears to be a rather robust set of big guys on the bench. Kolone has NFL experience at starting now, and Pircher has flashed ready-to-play ability in the preseason. With the team also prepared to welcome back Joe Noteboom, Tremayne Anchrum Jr., and rookie Logan Bruss at the end of the season, hopes for an LA Rams 2023 draft class populated with offensive linemen are dimming rapidly.

Yes, the LA Rams are beginning to show the first signs of normalcy. The team’s roster is bursting with offensive linemen, the fans want the team to invest more in the offensive line of scrimmage, and the chances that the team will do so are fading rapidly.