The LA Rams steal a perfect Jonah Jackson replacement as Bears hibernate

When the LA Rams entered the 2024 NFL Free Agency market, the plan for the team was to re-sign starting center Coleman Shelton. But the Rams noticed the availability of former Detroit Lions Pro Bowl interior offensive lineman Jonah Jackson, and quickly pivoted from Shelton to Jackson. The Rams signed Jonah Jackson to a three-year deal worth up to $51 million. But when the time came to suit up for the regular season, Jonah Jackson was injured in Week 1. That sent rookie center Beaux Limmter onto the football field.

And Limmer never looked back.

Beaux Limmer, unlike the failed offseason experiments of Jonah Jackson or Steve Avila, is a natural center. As such, he fit quickly into the task of hiking the football while bracing to block determined defensive linemen and linebackers who had a full head of steam up to greet the ball carrier. And I won't lie. as the season progressed, I wondered to myself why the Rams abandoned the original plan to re-sign Coleman Shelton.

Well, the Rams permitted Jonah Jackson to seek a trade, and the Chicago Bears were happy to reach a deal. Not only did the Bears step up to take Jonah Jackson off the Rams' hands for the price of a Round 6 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but they were happy to retain his compensation, projecting him as their starting left guard.

Still, the trade of Jonah Jackson to the Chicago Bears leaves the Rams roster one player shy of a full complement of backup interior offensive linemen. The Rams tendered ERFA C Dylon McMahon, and have IOL Justin Dedich. But the team would have to repurpose an offensive tackle to backup right guard Kevin Dotson.

Well, the LA Rams snuck in and stole free agent interior offensive lineman Coleman Shelton back from the Bears after being a 17-game starter for the Bears. While the Bears were busying forming a new starting offensive line, the Rams quietly but swiftly have come to terms with former starting center Coleman Shelton. While terms of the deal are not yet available, expectations are that the team has a team-friendly deal with Shelton to compete for either a starting or backup role in 2025:

While he didn't work out with the Bears, he did perform rather admirably. In 1121 offensive snaps, Shelton allowed three quarterback sacks and committed four penalties. His overall grade in 2024 from Pro Football Focus was 66.4. For comparison purposes, rookie center Beaux Limmer struggled a bit in 2024. In 915 offensive snaps, he allowed one quarterback sack but committed nine penalties. While his overall PFF grade of 57.6 is not bad, his pass blocking grade of 42.3 is alarming.

The team knows that Coleman Shelton is better at pass blocking than that. So in one simple signing, the Rams have place Beaux Limmer on notice. Get better, or we will start a center who can. And as luck would have it, that replacement player is the very starting offensive center that the Chicago Bears replaced in this 2025 NFL Free Agency market.

The Rams ended up with Coleman Shelton, and a Round 6 pick, for Jonah Jackson. In the end, the Rams came out much further ahead in this deal than I had originally expected.

Projected Grade: A-

As always, thanks for reading.

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