The Rams’ offensive line depth is getting a bit thinner. Center Aaron Neary has been suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season, per veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter link).
Neary originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Eastern Washington back in 2016. He’s been with the Rams for most of the last two seasons, and spent almost all of last year on the practice squad. The suspension was for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, and it almost certainly stems from his arrest back in September for DUI.
The Rams stuck by him after that arrest, so this suspension shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise to them. They recently re-signed him to a reserve/futures deal back in February. The Rams let starting center John Sullivan walk in free agency, and will be rolling with unproven second-year player Brian Allen as the starter. Neary was going to compete for a backup role in camp, and the Rams are now a bit thin at center.
Neary originally signed with the Broncos back in 2016, and has bounced around a few stops. He’s had stints with the Eagles and Browns as well, but the only regular season action of his career came when he started a game for the Rams in Week 17 of 2017.