Los Angeles Rams center Brian Allen becomes first active NFL player to test positive for coronavirus

Brian Allen (Google Images)

Los Angeles Rams center Brian Allen of Clarendon Hills, Illinois is the first active player in the National Football League to be diagnosed with coronavirus according to the Associated Press on Thursday. Allen is 24 years of age and has told the media he tested positive for the disease three weeks ago and is feeling much better.

Allen also stated he was not hospitalized for the disease. According to Lindsey Thiry of ESPN, Allen initially felt symptoms while rehabilitating his knee at the Rams practice facility at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California. Those symptoms included losing a sense of smell and taste, sore throat, headaches and being very tired.

There are currently 27, 108 cases of coronavirus in the state of California. There are also 889 deaths. Those large numbers exist even though there is a current lockdown in California.

Allen was initially the Rams’ fourth round pick, 111th overall, in the 2018 National Football League Draft. At 6’2″, 305 pounds, Allen played his college football with Michigan State. He has played 22 games with the Rams over the last two seasons.

Used primarily as a backup during the 2018 NFL season, Allen was behind John Sullivan of Mount Kisco, New York on the Rams depth chart at center. An opportunity arose for Allen in 2019 when the Rams decided not to pick up Sullivan’s option year of his contract. Allen started nine games for the Rams in 2019 before suffering an injury to his medial collateral ligament on November 10, 2019 in a 17-12 Rams loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was placed on injury reserve for the rest of the year.