Browns sign a free agent following the NFL Draft to compete with a second-year player

Allen started 32 of the 50 games he played with the Rams and was the starter in the 2021 Super Bowl win over the Cincinnati Bengal. The former fourth-round pick in 2018 missed the entirety of the 2020 season with an injury.

Last season, Allen played in just five games for the Rams and started all seven he played in the previous year.

Cleveland bringing in Allen appears to be a move to add a veteran to compete with second-year C Luke Wypler who they drafted out of Ohio State.

Wypler played in five games for Cleveland last year and made one start at the end of the season when the Browns rested players a game before the playoffs. Allen is similar in size to Wypler, they both weigh about 305 pounds but Wypler is an inch taller at 6-foot-3.

Wypler can play some guard, though he is not someone the Browns would stick out there in a regular season game just yet in his career. The Browns drafted one interior offensive lineman in the draft and it was G Zak Zinter, who won’t give the versatility to play at center.

Cleveland watched C Nick Harris walk in free agency, who was on the roster with Wypler to backup starting C Ethan Pocic previously. Cleveland isn’t inclined to keep two backup centers this year, so it may be either Wypler or Allen.