Beaux Limmer may finally have his second chance as Rams' Steve Avila fill-in

Overshadowed by Puka Nacua's knee injury, Los Angeles Rams guard Steve Avila will also miss "a little bit of time" after aggravating his hamstring on Sunday, per head coach Sean McVay. Avila first tweaked it in Week 8 but played through it in practice and was active against the Commanders. It doesn't sound like he'll accompany Nacua on injured reserve, but even then, he could miss multiple games. 

While McVay wasn't ready to name a replacement left guard, Beaux Limmer sure appears to be next in line after filling in for Avila last week. The former sixth-round pick started at center as a rookie but moved to guard with Coleman Shelton's return and barely played last season.

McVay's comments, although vague, indicate that Limmer may have a second chance in a starting role.

"It could be," he said of the option of activating veteran Justin Dedich off IR. "I thought Beaux did a nice job stepping up. We've got some depth on the inside. Obviously, Dylan McMahon's backed up at the center spot. Bill Murray's done a really nice job as a guy that's played meaningful snaps at the guard spot. And so that's a possibility.

I thought Beaux came in and did a really good job against a variety of looks and fronts and movements and things like that he got challenged with yesterday. And so we'll see. That [Dedich] is a possibility, but not ready to fully answer that just based on all the moving parts."

Rams fans can anticipate Beaux Limmer as Avila's replacement

Dedich began the year on IR after injuring his hand in July and there hasn't been much of an update since. If anything, McVay seems to view Murray as taking precedence over him as a replacement for Avila. His overall attitude and remarks on Limmer, though, suggest that the third-year lineman out of Arkansas is the man to beat for the job.

Entering Week 9, Limmer had seen all of six offensive snaps. He garnered only 11 last season after substantial playing time in Week 1. By contrast, Limmer started at center for the entirety of his rookie season. Since then, he has fallen out of favor. Now he may have a chance to regain trust. 

Despite McVay's comments, Pro Football Focus has not loved his efforts thus far. Limmer's overall grade sits at 54.4, with a dismal 41.0 in pass protection. In run blocking, he has earned a solid score of 67.6. 

Make what you will of the small sample. With a full week of first-team reps in practice, there's a good chance Limmer improves on his performance against Washington. On short notice, it was enough to impress McVay. 

Limmer is probably a more reliable option than asking Dedich to come in cold after not practicing all season. The Rams also have to be careful bringing back players from IR. They have already used four of the maximum eight designations to return. Nacua, Davante Adams, and Kobie Turner should all be back at some point. Dedich would be the eighth. 

Murray played well in the preseason but has just 42 career snaps on offense. Whatever the Rams decide, the best-case scenario is that Avila avoids IR and is back for Week 12 against the Packers after sitting out Week 10 in Arizona, followed by the bye. 

More realistically, Limmer may be the starter until at least Week 13 against the Chiefs. If Avila does require a trip to injured reserve, the soonest he could return would be December 20 versus Dallas. 

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