Sean McVay shared some bad news about the Rams’ offensive line on Monday, announcing that Brian Allen is out for the year and Rob Havenstein might miss a few weeks. It’s two more blows to an offensive line that’s been one of the worst in the NFL, if not the very worst.
As much as Allen and Havenstein have struggled this season, replacing isn’t something the Rams want to do. It’s forcing them to dig into their depth up front, which is already thin at the moment.
McVay explained how the Rams will handle the recent injuries and shift the offensive line, but there are still moves that could be made.
“We’re working through some of those things. I think you got a chance to evaluate some guys yesterday, just based on the way the nature of the game went,” McVay said. “I thought Austin Blythe did a nice job at center – he’ll step into that position. Austin Corbett did some really good things at that left guard spot. Then I thought – before he ended up having to transition out to the tackle spot – David Edwards did a nice job at right guard. As far as the tackle position – exactly how we fill that void from Rob – you could look at Bobby Evans, some other options. We’re working through those things right now as all that information just within the last few hours – we’re working through that.”
To summarize, this is how the offensive line could look in Week 11 with Havenstein and Allen out:
- LT Andrew Whitworth
- LG Austin Corbett
- C Austin Blythe
- RG David Edwards
- RT Bobby Evans
McVay said he feels good about Edwards staying at guard instead of moving him outside to right tackle – a position he played throughout his college career. He’d also prefer not to “feel like you’re falling off at two spots” by having to slide in a replacement at right guard where the Rams are getting solid play from Edwards.
The Rams could also look to the pool of free agents that are available, though McVay didn’t specify any names. Waivers are another option, if a player gets waived by a team in the near future.
“There’s certainly some names,” McVay said. “There’s some potential guys that you look to put a claim in and maybe other teams end up getting on that guy first. Those are things that we’re working through in the meantime.”
Perhaps the Rams tried to claim guard Aaron Stinnie off waivers from the Titans. The Bucs won that claim, and maybe that’s what McVay is referring to by saying “maybe other teams end up getting on that guy first.”
No other linemen have been claimed in the past few weeks, so if McVay is indicating the Rams tried to claim someone, Stinnie would make sense.
At the very least, Los Angeles needs to add some depth up front in case another injury occurs. Right now, Jamil Demby and Coleman Shelton are the only remaining offensive linemen on the 53-man roster as backups, with Chandler Brewer and Jeremiah Kolone on the practice squad.