The Los Angeles Rams lost a key member of their offensive line when Andrew Whitworth announced his retirement, but still have been able to keep some continuity by re-signing Brian Allen and Joseph Noteboom to three-year contracts.
Allen has been with the team since being selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He became a starter the following year but had his season cut short after suffering an MCL injury in Week 10.
After missing the entire 2020 season, Allen returned to the Rams last year and started all 16 games at center. It was his best season yet as he received an 80.2 grade from PFF, placing him in the top 10 among players at the position.
Allen likely would have drawn interest from other teams in free agency, but made it a priority to stay with the Rams due to their schemes and Matthew Stafford’s presence, via the team’s YouTube channel:
“Being around Matt for the one year that I had wasn’t really something I wanted to leave…I really feel like I’m still a young football player and I’m still maturing in our offense and I’m growing with our schemes and things of that nature. I really didn’t want to leave kind of not knowing how much better I could be in our offense. That was definitely something that was in the back of my mind. I didn’t want to go somewhere and be in a situation where I didn’t have someone like Matt to work with… He’d be a hard person to let know your leaving.”
Given his familiarity with the organization and the fact that he enjoyed his best season in 2021, it doesn’t come as a surprise Allen’s preference was remaining in L.A.
Allen and the rest of the offensive line meshed well with Stafford in his first year with the team, and having that kind of continuity will be key as the team looks to defend its Super Bowl title.
The Rams recently rewarded Stafford with a contract extension that guarantees he will be with the team for at least five more years. He will reportedly earn $160 million over the span of the four-year contract extension.
