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.
