Austin Corbett Details 'Tough Decision' to Leave Rams

Corbett discussed signing with the Panthers and how hard the decision was for him.

Author:
Connor Zimmerlee
Publish date:
Apr 21, 2022 1:24 PM EDT

After being traded to the Rams from Cleveland in 2019, Austin Corbett became a key member of the Rams offensive line. While Corbett's career did not start the way he had hoped it would in Cleveland, he flourished in Los Angeles and earned the starting position with the Rams.

Austin Corbett

Austin Corbett

Austin Corbett

Now, after just spending a few seasons with the Rams that revitalized his young career, Corbett will be playing elsewhere this season. Corbett signed with the Carolina Panthers on a three-year, $26.25 million deal, with $19.6 million guaranteed.

However, while Corbett is happy to join the Panthers and become an integral part of their offensive line, it was not an easy decision to leave the team that took a chance on him after Cleveland.

“It’s tough,” he said. “Why do you wanna leave something that’s comfortable? It’s familiar. It’s human nature to avoid change, right? I think that’s something just for me, personally, and my wife. We discussed going into this that we wanted somewhere that was gonna challenge us just to grow and step into a new role, and just to be comfortable with change.

“We loved our time in L.A. We love the staff, we love the players. Everything about it. And now we have this opportunity to go out, branch off and just continue to develop us, and really have this fresh opportunity to see what we can do outside of that system, right?”

Corbett will transition to Carolina smoothly, where he will be their starting guard as he hopes to transform an offensive line on a team that is rebuilding. For Corbett, though, the chance to compete will be worth it, no matter how hard change can be.