Center Coleman Shelton had a breakout campaign for the Los Angeles Rams in 2023. After being an undrafted free agent and bouncing around the league in 2019, he found a home with the Rams for his rookie season as a backup offensive lineman.
He stayed in that role until 2022, when head coach Sean McVay turned to him as a starter for the first time. Shelton played in 13 games that season and did enough for McVay to warrant making him the starting center again in 2023.
Shelton then had his best season as a pro in 2023, starting in all 17 regular season games and being called for only five penalties all season. Now, thanks to the two-year contract he signed in 2023 with an opt out, Shelton has a chance to hit free agency after a career year. This puts the Rams in a difficult position as they try to retain a player that helped reshape their offensive line quicker than expected.
McVay gave his thoughts on Shelton, the conversations he’s had with the center and where things stand on him making a return to the Rams for the 2024 campaign.
“Yeah, we would really like to get him back,” McVay said. “I would imagine that’s the direction that they would potentially go. We’re proactively trying to be able to get that taken care of. He’s a guy that we want to move forward with.
“I thought he did a great job with his body of work last year, the communication, the toughness, the competitiveness, all the different ways that he was productive in both run and pass. I know (Vice President of Football and Business Administration) Tony (Pastoors) and Manager of Football Administration) Matthew (Shearin) are doing a great job of trying to be able to work with his representation to try to be able to get something done so that he can be our center and continue to lead the way upfront.”
McVay has obviously had a high level of success leading the Rams since he was hired, and for him to speak so highly of Shelton shows the kind of player he is. It’s clear L.A. wants him to stick around and lead the offensive line in a 2024 season that could be a contending one for the Rams.
Now, the question becomes about price and what Shelton’s market is outside of L.A.
Rams release veteran offensive lineman Brian Allen
The Rams announced that they have parted ways with veteran center Brian Allen. The move will clear $4.9 million in salary cap room while leaving $3.15 million in dead money.
Allen was undoubtedly an extremely important part of the Rams run to Super Bowl LVI, but unfortunately injuries have continually hampered his ability to contribute to the team consistently. Having already replaced him with Shelton and with the money owed to him next season, it was a difficult, but understandable decision by the Rams to part ways at this point. And by releasing him now, Allen can get a head start on finding a new team before free agency starts.
