Did Rams re-unite with the wrong center?

By nearly all accounts the Los Angeles Rams emerged from free agency as winners. They plugged holes at receiver, in the trenches, and renewed their vows to Matthew Stafford for at least one more year.

While the logic behind re-uniting with Coleman Shelton—who spent last season with the Chicago Bears—seems well intended, it’s fair to question whether LA overpaid for the veteran’s services. Based on his recent two-year deal worth $12M, Shelton is expected to compete for a starting job with second-year center Beaux Limmer. Shelton made just $3.5M last year with the Bears, and Chicago was quick to upgrade with Atlanta Falcons free agent Drew Dalman ($3 years, $42M).

That’s head-scratching money for someone who has been a fringe starter over his career.

Meanwhile another former Rams center was also available on the free agent market. Austin Corbett—a starter at guard for LA in Super Bowl LVI—signed a one-year, $3M deal to return to the Carolina Panthers. That’s a bargain compared to Shelton’s deal with the Rams, though Corbett has struggled to remain healthy since he left the Rams at the conclusion of the 2021 season. Both players are 29 years old.

Did Rams re-unite with the wrong center?

There’s no mistaking that when Corbett is healthy he’s the better player of the two interior offensive linemen. However, he’s played just 548 snaps over the last two seasons in Carolina.

You have to go back to 2022 to find Corbett’s last healthy season, though when on the field he played at a level better than we’ve ever seen from Shelton.

These are the PFF pass blocking and run blocking grades for each Corbett and Shelton in years where they played more than 600 snaps:

Austin Corbett

• 2020 Rams: 73.4 OFF; 61.5 PASS; 76.4 RUN
• 2021 Rams: 69.6 OFF; 63.1 PASS; 68.5 RUN
• 2022 Panthers: 69.1 OFF; 76.2 PASS; 62.6 RUN

Coleman Shelton

• 2022 Rams: 58.0 OFF; 71.3 PASS; 55.4 RUN
• 2023 Rams: 66.1 OFF; 49.2 PASS; 74.6 RUN
• 2024 Bears: 66.4 OFF; 68.4 PASS; 66.7 RUN

While the Rams are paying Shelton starting money, the best-case scenario for the long-term outlook of the team would be for Limmer to take a step forward from his rookie season and grab the reigns at center. Shelton is still valuable as a depth piece because he has flexibility to play both guard and center. He could reasonably step in behind either Steve Avila or Kevin Dotson and be a suitable replacement.

Do you think the Rams possibly re-united with the wrong center? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.