The Rams may be staring at another shuffle on the interior line, and Beaux Limmer looks like the likeliest beneficiary.
Steve Avila is expected to miss “a little bit of time” after aggravating his hamstring on Sunday, according to Sean McVay. Avila first bothered the injury in Week 8, then played through it in practice and was active against the Commanders. McVay did not sound ready to send him to injured reserve, but the guard could still be out for multiple games.
That opens the door for Limmer, who stepped in for Avila last week and now appears to be first in line for the left guard job. The former sixth-round pick opened his rookie season at center, then shifted to guard after Coleman Shelton returned, and barely saw the field last year.
McVay stopped short of naming a replacement, but his remarks pointed toward Limmer while leaving a few other options on the table.
“It could be,” he said of the option of activating veteran Justin Dedich off IR. “I thought Beaux did a nice job stepping up.
We’ve got some depth on the inside. Obviously, Dylan McMahon’s backed up at the center spot.
Bill Murray’s done a really nice job as a guy that’s played meaningful snaps at the guard spot. And so that’s a possibility.
I thought Beaux came in and did a really good job against a variety of looks and fronts and movements and things like that he got challenged with yesterday. And so we’ll see. That [Dedich] is a possibility, but not ready to fully answer that just based on all the moving parts.”
Dedich has been on IR since injuring his hand in July, and there has not been much of an update on his status. McVay’s comments seemed to place Murray ahead of him in the pecking order, but the tone around Limmer was stronger still. The third-year lineman out of Arkansas looks like the one with the clearest path to the job.
That would be a notable turn for a player who has barely been used. Entering Week 9, Limmer had played just six offensive snaps.
He had only 11 last season after logging significant time in Week 1, and his rookie year was the one in which he started at center the whole way. Since then, his role has shrunk.
Now he may get another shot to change that.
The numbers from Pro Football Focus have not been especially kind. Limmer owns a 54.4 overall grade, including a rough 41.0 in pass protection. His run-blocking grade, though, sits at 67.6.
Still, the Rams saw enough on short notice to get McVay’s attention, and a full week of first-team work could help him settle in further. Limmer also makes more sense than asking Dedich to jump in cold after not practicing all season.
There is another layer to the decision, too: the Rams have already used four of their eight allowed IR activations. Nacua, Davante Adams, and Kobie Turner are all expected back at some point, and Dedich would be the eighth.
Murray impressed in the preseason, but he has only 42 career offensive snaps. However the Rams sort it out, the best-case outcome is that Avila avoids IR and is back for Week 12 against the Packers after sitting out Week 10 in Arizona and then the bye.
The more realistic path, though, has Limmer starting at least through Week 13 against the Chiefs. If Avila does wind up on injured reserve, the earliest he could return would be December 20 against Dallas.
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