After losing Austin Blythe to the Chiefs in free agency, the Rams plan on replacing him internally. Guard Austin Corbett is practicing at the center position, according to head coach Sean McVay.
“He and Matthew [Stafford] have established a nice rapport together,” McVay said (via Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times). “I know that Austin can play really well at guard, and we’re going to continue to see what it looks like at center and try to find the best combination of five to play up front.”
It’ll be an adjustment, but this is roughly what the Rams did with Blythe. Blythe was a full-time guard starter on the Rams’ Super Bowl LIII-qualifying team. Then, in 2020, they moved him to the middle, where he graded out as Pro Football Focus ninth-best center in the NFL.
Corbett, meanwhile, came to the Rams in a 2019 midseason trade with the Browns. Since then, he’s appeared in 24 games (23 starts) for the Rams, including 16 starts last year at right guard. Now, he’ll try his hand at center, working alongside Brian Allen and Coleman Shelton.
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