WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – The Rams' offensive line is experiencing a slight re-shuffle entering its Week 1 matchup with the Lions.
After initially planning to have Steve Avila start at center and Jonah Jackson at left guard, those plans have now flipped with Jackson set to be at center and Avila moving back to left guard for Sunday night's game.
"I mean, for us, in past years, we've always... it's never just one guy that's the center," Jackson said. "It's the NFL, things happen. Guys get hurt. We all prepare like we have to play a different position. So making the transition was really seamless. Wendy (offensive line coach Ryan Wendell) has kept us sharp and on top of things. So wherever they need me, I'm ready."
Avila knew it was a possibility after having some conversations with head coach Sean McVay, so it didn't come as a surprise when it happened. He didn't have to mentally prepare for the switch back to left guard as he did for the initial switch to center, given he started 17 games at guard last season, but said learning the center position has helped.
"From my understanding, it was, we want to put the best five out there, which they are," Avila said. "This was always a possibility that it could happen. We want to flex what we can do, because we know we have the guys to. And right now, we feel like that this is the best thing to do. It's exciting to know guys can switch around like that."
Quarterback Matthew Stafford has experience getting reps with Jonah Jackson at center, doing so in 2020 when both were with the Lions. So far, he's been pleased with what Jackson has shown.
"Yeah, he's been great," Stafford said. "His command of the offense is really impressive for a guy that hasn't been here for a bunch of years and understands what we're trying to do from an offensive standpoint. It's been great. I have some experience with him in the past and then obviously just been talking about it. He didn't get to practice a whole lot during training camp so when he has been out there the last ten days, or whatever it's been, two weeks. It has been really good."
While the majority of Jackson's starting experience in college was at guard, he did start five games at center during his redshirt sophomore season at Rutgers in 2017. But his time spent playing the position goes back even further than that.
"My first-ever position when I played football was center," Jackson said. "I've always played center, and it just so happened that sometimes we needed a guard more than we needed a center, so I played guard. I went down in prior years. Had we not had a All Pro and Pro Bowl center [the Lions' Frank Ragnow], I probably would have played center."
Changing centers prior to and during a season – especially during his Rams tenure – is nothing new to Stafford, who indicated he doesn't do anything differently when that occurs. The dearth of offensive line injuries during the 2022 season gave Stafford experience with that in real-time.
"I just continue to play, continue to push and help these guys grow as much as they possibly can, and they do a great job of doing it themselves," Stafford said. "I mean, I don't know how many guys we played at center in 2022, I took snaps from all sorts of people, so I'm not too worried about it."
