Tag: Brian Allen

6 Offensive linemen the Vikings could pursue in free agency

The Minnesota Vikings need to fortify their offensive line. These six players could be targets for them when free agency begins.

Offensive line is a position group that has haunted the Minnesota Vikings for some time. What has plagued them has been a series of poor draft picks, rough free agent signings and bad development.

Over the last few years, the Vikings have started to find hits, especially at tackle. Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill are two of the best tackles in the National Football League. On the interior, Ed Ingram is slowly developing and Garrett Bradbury is fine but replaceable.

With the current state of the offensive line, left guard is currently open as are the backup offensive line spots. Who could the Vikings choose to bring in to help fortify the offensive line? One seems like a near certainty at left guard so we focused on rotational guys behind the starters.

Former Michigan State football C Brian Allen to be released by LA Rams

Brian Allen will be hitting free agency after six productive seasons with the LA Rams:

Brian Allen was a beloved center during his time with the Michigan State program. Alongside his brothers, Jack and Matt, the Allen family were staples of the MSU offensive line in the Mark Dantonio era.

After his MSU career, Allen was selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He has spent his whole six year NFL career with the Rams, playing in 50 games, while starting 32, and winning Super Bowl 56 in 2021.

Now, after six seasons, the Rams are releasing the veteran offensive lineman.

Surely, there will be a market for a veteran offensive lineman with the experience Allen has.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

Salary cap impact of Rams releasing Brian Allen

How much cap space will the Rams save by releasing Brian Allen?

There are still three weeks until the new league year begins but the Los Angeles Rams have already started clearing some cap space. The team announced on Wednesday that veteran center Brian Allen has been released after six seasons in Los Angeles.

Allen was previously a starter but was relegated to a backup role behind Coleman Shelton last season. With a cap hit of $8.05 million this year, cutting Allen was always a likely move for the Rams.

The question many are asking is how much money this move saves the Rams. According to Over The Cap, the Rams will save $4.9 million in cap space, taking on $3.15. million in dead money. So instead of Allen counting $8.05 million against the cap in 2024, he’ll only take up $3.15 million.

It’s not a massive savings, but it is enough for the Rams to sign a potential starter at another position. It also gives the Rams some more money to use on Shelton, assuming he opts out of his contract and becomes a free agent this offseason.

Allen signed a three-year extension worth $18 million in 2022 but he ended up starting just seven games on that contract due to injury. The former fourth-round pick did help the Rams win the Super Bowl in 2021, starting 16 games during the regular season and all four in the playoffs.

Rams release C Brian Allen after 6 seasons

The Rams have released Brian Allen, who signed an $18M contract before the 2022 season

The Los Angeles Rams aren’t going to wait it out with Brian Allen. The six-year veteran was viewed as a potential cap casualty this offseason and on Wednesday, the Rams made that a reality.

The team announced it has released Allen after six seasons, thanking the veteran center on social media. Allen was a fourth-round pick by the Rams in 2018 and signed a three-year, $18 million extension in 2022.

Allen started 32 games and played 50 since being drafted by the Rams six years ago, though he didn’t play a single game during the entire 2020 season. Injuries plagued his career in Los Angeles, limiting him severely in 2019, 2022 and 2023.

Allen was set to have a cap hit of $8.05 million this year but releasing him will save the Rams $4.9 million, giving them a dead cap charge of $3.15 million in 2024.

Rams have big decisions to make with two of their highest-paid O-linemen

Joe Noteboom and Brian Allen have a combined cap hit of $28 million in 2024, but with either be back with the Rams?

After the 2021 season, the Los Angeles Rams rewarded two starting offensive linemen with contract extensions. They signed left tackle Joe Noteboom to a three-year, $40 million deal, committing to him as their replacement for Andrew Whitworth. They also gave center Brian Allen a three-year, $18 million extension after he put together a strong season in 2021.

Neither player started more than seven games in the first year of their extensions, battling through injuries during a difficult 2022 season for the entire team.

This past season wasn’t much better, with Allen getting beaten out by Coleman Shelton at center and Noteboom making just eight starts at left tackle, right guard and even right tackle. He was a valuable depth piece, but that’s not what the Rams paid him to be.

Entering this offseason, the Rams have big decisions to make with both players. Alaric Jackson, Coleman Shelton and Kevin Dotson will all be free agents, but does the front office and coaching staff feel confident enough in Allen or Noteboom to go back to them as starters? Or, will the Rams move on from them after they both failed to meet the expectations that their lucrative contracts came with?

According to Over The Cap, Noteboom has a cap hit of $20 million in 2024, the fourth-largest on the team. Allen’s cap hit is $8.05 million, seventh-highest on the roster. This is the result of the Rams restructuring the contracts of both players last offseason in an attempt to free up some cap space in 2023, though it came at the expense of giving each player larger cap hits in 2024 and 2025.

Cutting Noteboom before June 1 isn’t a great idea. That would come with a dead cap charge of $15 million, netting a savings of only $5 million. It’s more feasible to cut Allen before June 1, which would save the Rams $4.9 million after a dead cap hit of $3.15 million.

As post-June 1 cuts, the Rams could save $15 million with Noteboom and $7 million with Allen. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t see the cap savings of those moves until after June 1, but it would be more financially responsible than taking on $18.15 million with pre-June 1 cuts.

Trading either player doesn’t save the Rams any additional cap space compared to cutting them before June 1. The savings with Noteboom would only be $5 million and trading Allen would save $4.9 million.

There are a few different ways the Rams can play this with Noteboom and Allen. Jackson should be back as a restricted free agent, but if Dotson prices himself out of the Rams’ budget, might they just plug Noteboom in at right guard and hope he can stay healthy? The same goes for Shelton, who will be an unrestricted free agent and should have a decent market after playing well in 2023. If he leaves, will the Rams feel good enough about Allen to give him a third opportunity to start?

No matter what, it’s not a great situation to be in. The Rams will either be taking a risk with injury-prone players, paying them a lot to be backups or cutting them for an insignificant savings before June 1.

There’s been no indication yet of which way the front office will go, but it’s a decision that will need to be made at some point for both players.

Rams have only re-signed 3 players drafted in the Sean McVay era

Since 2017, the Rams have only given second contracts to 3 players that they’ve drafted and only 1 has really worked out

Drafting rookies is hard. Ask any general manager, scout or head coach. Finding future stars in the NFL is extremely difficult, and even landing a handful of starters in one class is a challenge.

For the most part, Rams GM Les Snead has done a good job selecting players in the draft. He found Aaron Donald, Jared Goff, Cooper Kupp, Michael Brockers, Tyler Higbee, Todd Gurley and Rob Havenstein. Lately, though, the results have been more of a mixed bag.

Since 2017, the Rams have had their share of misses, with the 2020 class immediately coming to mind. After trading Van Jefferson to the Falcons, the Rams have just three players left from that nine-player class: Brycen Hopkins, Jordan Fuller and Tremayne Anchrum Jr., two of whom are backups.

Not a single player from that class has received a contract extension yet, and it’s unclear if any of them will next offseason when they become free agents. It could follow the path of the 2019 class, which the Rams have no players left on the roster from.

Widening the scope, it’s become common practice for Los Angeles to let draft picks leave, either via trade, release or in free agency. Since Sean McVay took over as the head coach in 2017, only three players drafted by the Rams have gotten second contracts.

  • Cooper Kupp: three years, $48 million (2020)
  • Joe Noteboom: three years, $40 million (2022)
  • Brian Allen: three years, $18 million (2022)

Typically, the mark of a good draft pick is a second contract. If a team doesn’t give a player a second contract before or after their rookie contract expires, it’s usually a sign that the player didn’t do enough to earn a long-term extension – unless they priced themselves out of the team’s range in free agency.

For the Rams, many of their draft picks since 2017 simply haven’t panned out, and it’s not as if they’ve gone on to have big years with other teams. Sure, Taylor Rapp, Greg Gaines and David Edwards were solid players, but they didn’t turn into must-keep free agents.

And obviously, the 2020 class is headed down the same road with Cam Akers and Jefferson being traded, Terrell Lewis and Terrell Lewis being cut last year and Clay Johnston and Sam Sloman failing to make it through their rookie years in L.A.

The Rams have overcome some draft misses and still won a Super Bowl, but it’s not often this team nails a pick that becomes a high priority when their rookie contract expires. Hopefully Ernest Jones, Cobie Durant, Steve Avila and Byron Young (among others) can change that narrative in Los Angeles.

Rams’ LT and center competitions could decide how rest of O-line looks

The Rams may need to figure out who their starting left tackle and center is before determining who starts at guard

Before the Los Angeles Rams can decide who will be their two starting guards, they might need to sort out very important competitions at left tackle and center. Sean McVay has already said it’s an open battle at both positions, with Alaric Jackson and Joe Noteboom competing at left tackle and Brian Allen and Coleman Shelton at center.

What makes those two positions so interesting is the fact that the loser of each won’t necessarily be a backup. It’s possible that whoever loses each competition will still get a chance to start somewhere along the offensive line.

That’s a testament to the position flexibility of those players, with the exception of Allen, who’s strictly a center. Jackson and Noteboom can both play tackle or guard, and they’ve each made starts at both positions in the past. Shelton has also been a starter at center and guard.

There’s a scenario where if Jackson beats out Noteboom at left tackle, Noteboom could be the starting right guard. The same goes for Allen and Shelton; if Allen wins out at center, Shelton could still start at right guard.

That’s a good problem to have, but one the Rams have to figure out sooner than later. Right now, they’re rotating guys a bunch along the offensive line in an attempt to find their best five starters. There’s been no indication of whether Jackson or Noteboom is lead at left tackle, or who has the edge at center.

But once the Rams settle on starters at each position, they can then give the loser of those battles a fair shot to compete at other spots; maybe in the end, Jackson is just best suited to play guard instead of left tackle.

“I think you want to see competition across the board, but when you look at it, you’ve got four players that are competing or rotating at those spots right now that have all played in bigtime games and started for us. When you look at Alaric Jackson, you look at Joe Noteboom at the left tackle spot, you look at Brian Allen and Coleman Shelton from the center spot, those are guys that have played a lot of football for us,” McVay said this week. “I do believe competition brings out the best in guys. And so, whether or not those guys are always at those spots, that’s to be determined, but I do think that they’ll positively push each other and get the most out of each other and that’s what we’re looking at early on in camp. I’m looking forward to seeing those battles unfold.”

One of the guard spots could potentially go to rookie Steve Avila, who’s already gotten first-team reps. If he’s locked in as one starter, the other position could be hotly contested by a handful of players: Jackson or Noteboom, Shelton, Logan Bruss and Tremayne Anchrum Jr. That’s potentially five players competing for one spot.

Left tackle and center are unquestionably more important than the two guard spots, which is why it’s critical for the Rams to settle on starters at those positions sooner rather than later. Plus, with the way McVay protects his starters in the preseason, he’s not going to want to put guys in harm’s way if he doesn’t have to in meaningless exhibition games.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Rams’ 23 most important players for 2023 – No. 14: C Brian Allen

Brian Allen must earn his starting job at center this year and the Rams would love for him to play the way he did in 2021

Brian Allen has been in and out of the starting lineup for the Rams since 2019, starting 32 games in that span but also missing the entire 2020 season and 19 more games in the other three seasons combined.

Injuries have limited him in a big way throughout his career, but he’ll once again get a shot to start for Los Angeles in 2023. He’ll be competing with Coleman Shelton for the starting job and he’s not certain to win that battle, having already split first-team reps this offseason.

Still, Allen should end up being one of the Rams’ most important players this season, assuming he’s able to hold off Shelton. The Rams need him to play the way he did two years ago, and also stay healthy for the entire season.

Rams’ 23 most important players for 2023 – No. 23: OL Coleman Shelton

Coleman Shelton got a 2-year extension from the Rams this year and could end up being their starting center

The Los Angeles Rams head into the 2023 season with a much different feel than in years past. Gone are the days of fielding star-studded rosters led by players such as Jalen Ramsey, Marcus Peters, Brandin Cooks and Bobby Wagner.

Now, the Rams are leaning on young, unproven players to help right the ship after a 5-12 campaign in 2022. Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford are still there, of course, but much of this season will come down to the play of lesser-known starters.

Ahead of training camp, we’re ranking the Rams’ 23 most important players for the 2023 season, beginning with an offensive lineman capable of starting at one of three different positions: Coleman Shelton.

He’s back with the Rams after signing a two-year extension and he’ll compete at both guard and center, potentially earning a starting spot at one or the other.

Matthew Stafford shares his thoughts on Rams rotating Brian Allen and Coleman Shelton at center

Matthew Stafford spoke about the Rams’ competition at center, and he sees it as a positive to work with Brian Allen and Coleman Shelton.

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

The Los Angeles Rams are holding competitions at a handful of positions this offseason, including the center position. With the Rams giving reps to Brian Allen and Coleman Shelton, Matthew Stafford spoke about the team rotating centers in practice.

“It’s not too much different for me. I think we’re kind of rotating a bunch of guys in there. We’ve got some new guys at tackle this week for this deal. It’s been a lot – a bunch of competition, a bunch of rotation in there,” Stafford said. “I know at some point, we’ll settle into what we want to get to, but right now I think all that’s good. As far as for me, I’m lucky to play with both of those guys. They’re really great centers, have a great command of the offense, what we’re trying to do, are professional snappers of the football, and all that kind of stuff. It’s not too much of a big deal to me.”

Since being traded to the Rams in 2021, Stafford has mainly taken snaps from Allen. The veteran center has been limited to 32 games since 2019 due to injuries and he missed 10 games last season.

Despite Allen’s experience, the Rams have given more first-team reps to Shelton in OTAs and during mandatory minicamp. Training camp will be a good indicator of who will end up starting the season, but there’s a chance Allen loses his starting job to Shelton.

For a quarterback, it’s all about repetition and getting into a rhythm with the other 10 players on the field. But with the Rams shaking things up in the trenches, Stafford appears to welcome the current competition that is taking place at center and the other positions on the offensive line.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]