Rams signed exclusive-rights free agent Coleman Shelton
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) April 7, 2021
The Los Angeles Rams will officially have Coleman Shelton in the mix for the 2021 season. He signed his exclusive rights free agent tender on Wednesday, which means he’s under contract for the upcoming campaign.
Shelton isn’t a big name but he is someone who could compete for the team’s starting center role with Brian Allen following Austin Blythe’s departure. He’s suited up for 26 games in his career, primarily playing special teams, but he did play 23 snaps on offense in 2019.
The Rams are still highly likely to select a center at some point in the 2021 NFL draft to fill the void left by Blythe, but Allen and Shelton will be in the mix, too. And they’re very different players in terms of their frame.
Shelton has better length at 6-foot-5, though he’s only 285 pounds. Allen, on the other hand, is only 6-foot-2 and 303 pounds, lacking the length teams like to see on the offensive line.
That troubled him at times in 2019 when he was the starter, struggling with bigger and more powerful defensive linemen. At the very least, Shelton could compete for the backup role if the team decides to move on from Allen, who has been recovering from a severe MCL injury suffered two seasons ago.