Like Colby Parkinson in 2024, Coleman Shelton's contract screams 2025 starter

The Los Angeles Rams traded veteran IOL Jonah Jackson to the Chicago Bears. The team also extended LT Alaric Jackson for three years. With those early moves, the Rams roster seemed to have settled on the starting offensive line for the 2025 NFL season. Or, has it?

The LA Rams starting offensive line appeared to take the shape of:

• LT Alaric Jackson
• LG Steve Avila
• C Beaux Limmer
• RG Kevin Dotson
• RT Rob Havenstein

But even with starters seemingly falling into place, the injuriy history of offensive lineman is still far too fresh on the minds of Rams fans to overlook so quickly. The Rams have some depth at offensive tackle, where the team can set Warren McClendon Jr., AJ Arcuri, and KT Leveston into training camp competion. For the interior offensive line, the team had Justin Dedich and Dylan McMahon in the queue to cover the three other roles.

But they are both coming off rookie seasons, and the Rams needed a veteran swing offensive lineman who could cover all three roles as the primary backup. To fill the void in the Rams depth chart left by trading away Jonah Jackson, the Rams turned to a familiar face and signed former starting center Coleman Shelton. Originally thought to be a depth player who would cover interior offensive lineman as a backup, that may not prove out. At least not after seeing what the Rams agreed to pay Shelton for two years worth of work:

The compensation appears to run closer to what a starting center might make for an NFL team, and not what a backup offensive lineman might make. And that was later confirmed (soft of) by a message from Rams reporter J.B. Long, who used the the 'average starting center comp' phrasing in conversations with fans who felt a bit alarmed at Shelton's level of compensation.

So, did the Rams overpay Shelton?

Not if he is in the mix for a starting center role. And with his compensation at that projected level, it's hard to make an argument that he is anything but competing for a starting role in 2025.

While I loved what Beaux Limmer brought to the Rams roster in 2024, it was hard not to notice how he struggled as the starter at times. Centers rarely get flagged. Limmer was penalized nine times last season. He showcased plenty of promise in 2024. When the Rams competed in the 2025 NFL Playoffs, Beaux Limmer was simply not up to the challenge.

He is young. He will improve. But with the Rams flipping the script from young talent to making a final run at a Super Bowl victory in the next year or two, the team needs to get playoff-ready production now. That explains the compensation for Shelton.

The Rams front office deployed a similar strategy in 2024 when the team signed veteran free agent tight end Colby Parkinson to a rather hefty three-year contract. While the terms seemed to be very generous, the plan was to pay Parkinson on the low end of a starting tight end's scale just in case the return of Tyler Higbee did not go as planned.

Higbee did return, and immediately proved why he remains the Rams starting tight end.

Still, the front office must have been pleased with the results of that strategy. They are following a similar track for Coleman Shelton, who enters the Rams roster and introduces new questions over who will start for the team at center in 2025. If Limmer re-earns the starting role, Shelton is a superb swing lineman who can plug-and-play at any of three interior offensive lineman positions. If Shelton wins the starting role, Limmer is a ripe young backup who has already played a healthy portion of starts.

You may see this as controversial competition. I simply see it as a win-win.

As always, thanks for reading.

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