Brian Allen’s six-year stint with the Rams came to an end this summer, when the team dismissed him after a season as a second-stringer. Allen will have an opportunity to rebuild somewhere.
According to his agent, the former Super Bowl starter got a shot with the Browns on Tuesday. Cleveland will see if Allen, who has struggled with injuries for much of his career, can contribute to an offensive line that already boasts a number of pricey players.
Although the Browns struggled on the offensive line last season, they still have high-priced guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller, as well as Jack Conklin’s upper-crust right tackle contract and Jedrick Wills’ fifth-year option. The organization also compensated Ethan Pocic following his great 2022 season; the veteran center is signed to a three-year, $18 million contract. Last year, Pocic earned a $10 million guarantee when signing.
Pocic’s 2023 terms equaled what the Rams agreed to pay Allen in 2022, but the Super Bowl LVI first-stringer was once again sidelined by injury. Allen, who missed seven games in 2019 and all of 2020 due to injury, did not participate in ten of the Rams’ seventeen games during an injury-plagued 2022 season for the reigning champs’ offensive line. Allen was unable to keep his starting position last season, as the Rams went with former UDFA Coleman Shelton. Even though Shelton left (for the Bears) in free agency, the Rams made Allen a cap casualty.
Allen was ranked as the league’s 10th-best center by Pro Football Focus in 2021, suggesting that the Browns might benefit from his presence. While the former fourth-round selection started 20 games for the Super Bowl-winning team, he missed one game due to an MCL injury and played part of the season with a UCL rupture in his elbow. Allen’s ACL and MCL rupture midway through the 2019 season cost him the whole 2020 season, and he had another knee setback in Week 1 of the 2022 season. Allen, 28, appeared in only five games last season, while Shelton started all 18 Rams outings.
PFF ranked Pocic as the 13th-best center last season, and the Browns also selected Michigan guard Zak Zinter in Round 3. The latter is coming off a season-ending fractured leg suffered in Michigan’s victory over Ohio State. With Zinter certain of at least a swing role this season, the Browns will see whether Allen can also become part of their equation up front.
