Tag: Brian Allen

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.

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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.

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Brian Allen could be in danger of losing his starting job at center

Coleman Shelton has been getting first-team reps at center for the Rams, putting Brian Allen’s starting job in jeopardy.

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The Los Angeles Rams are going to look a lot different across the board in 2023 compared to the 2022 season. One area where the Rams could make alterations is along the offensive line and that could include Brian Allen losing his starting job at the center position.

The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue recently spoke about Coleman Shelton getting first-team reps at center during OTAs over Allen in the most recent “11 Personnel” podcast. Shelton continues to get reps with the starters at the beginning of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, while Allen was getting reps with Brett Rypien at quarterback.

Rodrigue revealed that the Rams want to get bigger in the interior of their offensive line in hopes to improve the rushing attack after hiring Mike LaFleur as the team’s new offensive coordinator. This makes sense as the Rams took Steve Avila early in this year’s draft and Logan Bruss early in last year’s draft.

 

Allen missed the entire 2020 season due to injury, but he’s made 32 starts since the 2019 campaign. Injuries have been an issue for the former fourth-round pick, including missing 10 games in 2022.

Meanwhile, Shelton made 13 starts for the Rams last season, and he has experience at guard and center. And connecting the dots that Rodrigue mentioned, Shelton is bigger than Allen, making him more of an ideal fit for what Sean McVay and LaFleur want to accomplish in the interior.

Earlier this offseason, the Rams reworked Allen’s contract to save $3.2 million in cap space. Releasing Allen wouldn’t create any cap savings for the Rams right now and it would give the team another $3.05 million in dead money.

There’s a chance that the Rams just want Allen to inherit a depth role with his experience and knowledge of the offense. On the other hand, if they could find a trade partner, Allen would free up $2 million in cap space, with a $1.05 million dead cap charge.

McVay and LaFleur have both mentioned that the Rams are going to deploy the best five offensive linemen in 2023, so there is plenty of time before they’ll have to decide who to start. But at the moment, it appears that Allen could be handing over the starting center job to Shelton or someone else this season.

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PFF ranks Brian Allen as the 12th-best center in the NFL

Brian Allen was ranked as the 12th-best center in the NFL, which is a bit higher than expected

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Brian Allen’s first five seasons in the NFL have been a rollercoaster. He didn’t start until Year 2, and when he did take the reins at center, he was limited to nine games in 2019 and missed the entire 2020 season with a knee injury.

He bounced back in a big way as Pro Football Focus’ sixth-highest-graded center in the NFL in 2021, but once again, he missed significant time due to injury last season. So where does he stand heading into the upcoming season, his sixth as a pro?

PFF surprisingly believes he’ll be one of the better players at his position. The site ranked Allen as the 12th-best center in the NFL for 2023, citing his strong performance in 2021.

Allen’s career took a big step forward in 2021, his third season after entering the league as a fourth-round rookie out of Michigan State in 2018. He finished that season as the 10th highest-graded player at the position while his 79.7 PFF run blocking grade ranked eighth.

Allen was one of the many offensive linemen to miss extended time last year, being limited to just seven games. He struggled when he was healthy, ranking 20th among all centers in overall grading, finishing the year 37th in pass-blocking (59.2).

Allen may be viewed as the 12th-best center in the league heading into this season, but he’s not even guaranteed to be a starter. If rookie Steve Avila or Coleman Shelton outplay Allen in training camp, one of the two could start over the sixth-year veteran, potentially resulting in Allen’s release.

That seems unlikely to happen right now, but if the offensive line is going to be a true meritocracy not dependent on contract status, Allen could find himself on the outside looking in.

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Watch: Tutu Atwell can’t believe Brian Allen still uses a flip phone

Tutu Atwell was shocked to learn Brian Allen still uses a flip phone in 2023

Tutu Atwell learned something new this week: Brian Allen still uses a flip phone in the year 2023. There aren’t many people left in the world who still use that iconic phone design at this point in time, but Allen is among them – and Atwell can’t believe it.

He posted a video on Instagram showing Allen’s phone, as well as the center’s reaction to Atwell trolling him for his outdated piece of technology. Allen actually nailed his rendition of the Griddy in the locker room, which had Atwell – and probably all of his followers – cracking up.

Hey, some people like the simplicity of a flip phone – and the lack of distracting apps like Twitter, TikTok and Instagram.

Just don’t expect Allen to answer any of your FaceTime calls. He also might take a little while to respond to a text.

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Rams rework Brian Allen’s contract, save $3.2 million in cap space

The Rams have reworked Brian Allen’s contract, which adds $3.2 million in cap space this year

Brian Allen was viewed as a potential cap casualty for the Los Angeles Rams this offseason, but he doesn’t seem to be heading anywhere. According to Over The Cap, the Rams reworked Allen’s contract and saved $3.2 million in cap space.

Allen came into the year with a cap hit of $6.2 million, a pretty sizable cost for a center who’s been injured in recent years. Now, his cap number will only be $3 million, which is much more manageable for the cap-strapped Rams.

Over The Cap didn’t specify whether this was a traditional restructure, but assuming it was, Allen will now have higher cap hits in 2024 and 2025 – the latter of which is a void year when he won’t actually be on the roster.

This is a vote of confidence for Allen, suggesting the Rams will keep him around as their starting center this season. That doesn’t mean they’ll ignore the center position in the draft, but the front office and coaching staff clearly feel confident in Allen as their starter.

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4 potential cap casualties for Rams in 2023

With the Rams searching for ways to create cap space in 2023, these 4 players could be released

The Los Angeles Rams will begin looking ahead to the 2023 season following a forgettable 2022 campaign that saw them finish with a 5-12 record. The bulk of the offseason is only a couple of months away and the Rams will need to clear up some cap space ahead of free agency and the draft.

There is a multitude of ways teams can free up cap space in the NFL and the Rams will likely look to restructure a few contracts this offseason to do that. Meanwhile, there is also the possibility of Los Angeles parting ways with a couple of players that are under contract.

With the Rams needing to get creative to shed some salary this offseason, here are four potential cap casualties for the team in 2023.

Former Michigan State football OL Brian Allen done for season

Former MSU OL Brian Allen’s season is over:

Brian Allen has latched on to a solid role in the NFL as the starting center for the defending Super Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams. Unfortunately, the 2022 season has not gone the way the Rams and Allen would have wanted, and it is getting worse for the former Spartan.

It has been reported that Brian Allen’s season is over and he is being placed on injured reserved. Allen is suffering from a calf strain.

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.

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Ben Skowronek, Brian Allen out for season with calf injuries

Sean McVay said both Brian Allen and Ben Skowronek are out for the year with calf injuries.

The Los Angeles Rams have lost two more starters for the rest of the season. Sean McVay told reporters on Tuesday that Ben Skowronek and Brian Allen both suffered a strained calf in Monday night’s loss to the Packers and they’ll miss the final three weeks of the season.

Allen was injured on the second play and missed the rest of the game, while Skowronek left the game for a brief time in the first half before returning later on. Skowronek ends the best season of his career with 39 catches for 376 yards, and although he didn’t catch a touchdown pass, he did score once on the ground.

Allen played just seven games this year, missing time due to a knee injury and now the calf strain. He’ll likely be replaced by Coleman Shelton at center, which will thrust Oday Aboushi into the starting lineup.

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Brian Allen leaves game vs. Packers with calf injury

Brian Allen left the Rams-Packers game with a calf injury after just two plays

Brian Allen didn’t get in a full practice session all week as he was nursing a knee injury, and he didn’t last very long before going down in the first quarter against the Packers.

On the Rams’ second offensive play of the night, Allen suffered what’s being called a calf injury and had to be helped off the field. Coleman Shelton slid over from guard to center, and Oday Aboushi stepped in at guard to fill the void.

Allen is questionable to return after limping to the locker room.

Allen has struggled with injuries throughout his career, and this is just the latest ailment for the fifth-year center out of Michigan State. He signed a three-year contract extension with the Rams this offseason, earning $18 million on that deal.

Rams injury report: Allen out, Robinson and Higbee questionable vs. Chiefs

The Rams will once again be without Brian Allen, while Allen Robinson and 4 others are listed as questionable

In addition to being without Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp, the Los Angeles Rams will be missing at least one other starter this week against the Kansas City Chiefs. Sean McVay told reporters on Friday that Brian Allen has been ruled out with a thumb injury that kept him out of practice all week. Travin Howard has also been ruled out with a hip injury.

A few other players are uncertain to play, as well. Allen Robinson, Brian Allen, Tyler Higbee, Matt Skura and Ty Nsekhe are all questionable; each of them started for the Rams in Week 11 against the Saints.

McVay said Nsekhe could be a game-time decision, and A.J. Arcuri is someone who could replace him at left tackle if he’s unavailable.

For the Chiefs, Chris Lammons, Juan Thornhill and Joe Thuney are all questionable, while Kadarius Toney has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.

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