A year ago, the Los Angeles Rams started the 2018 season with starting RG Jamon Brown suspended for two games for marijuana. They went to OL Austin Blythe to fill in for those two games. Blythe ultimately played well enough to hold on to the spot leaving Brown sidelined.
At the same time, the Rams started the year without ILB Mark Barron. While the role and snap counts didn’t exactly correlate, ILB Ramik Wilson filled in admirably with Barron dealing with an ankle injury. At right guard, the mantra was clearly “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.