The Los Angeles Rams announced on Monday that they have placed linebacker Justin Lawler on IR and signed center Coleman Shelton.
Lawler underwent foot surgery at the beginning of August, so he is not going to be seeing the field anytime soon. Since he was placed on IR after the original 53-man roster was announced, he can be designated to return after Week 8 if he is able to do so.
The Rams drafted Lawler in the seventh round in 2018 out of SMU. He appeared in all 16 games his rookie season, although he only had six total tackles and his biggest impact came on special teams.
Shelton went undrafted out of Washington in 2019 and originally signed with the Arizona Cardinals, where he spent training camp and the preseason. He becomes the fifth former Washington player on the Rams roster, which is more than any other school.
Coming off a Super Bowl loss, the Rams were ranked 31st in the waiver order, which is why they weren’t able to make any other claims. Head coach Sean McVay said that Shelton was a guy they were targeting from the beginning though, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
#LARams HC Sean McVay on signing C Coleman Shelton to the 53-man roster today:
“He was a guy that we had targeted, that once he hit waivers, was somebody we were interested in.”
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) September 2, 2019
Offensive line has been a position of emphasis for the Rams after they lost two starters from last year in John Sullivan and Ridger Saffold.
The addition of Shelton gives Los Angeles nine offensive lineman on their 53-man roster as McVay searches for that perfect combination up front to protect Jared Goff and create holes for Todd Gurley.
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