CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Browns added depth to their solid offensive line on Tuesday, agreeing on a contract with free agent center Brian Allen, his agency announced on social media.
Allen, who started 36 games and a Super Bowl for the Rams, is getting a one-year contract.
The Browns have not yet confirmed the deal.
The 28-year-old Allen was slowed by injuries the past few seasons and was a backup in 2023. The Rams released him in February.
Former NFL center LeCharles Bentley, who was briefly with the Browns and founded AMDG Sports, posted Allen's agreement on X.
“I’ve known BA since he was a high schooler,” Bentley wrote. "When he’s healthy, one of the baddest dudes in the NFL. My personal favorite C (center) to watch play. Really hoping he reclaims old form and help the Land keep dominating upfront. A real dawg.”
Allen, who played at Michigan State, will likely compete with 2023 draft pick Luke Wypler to back up starter Ethan Pocic.
The Browns have wanted to bulk up their interior. Last week, they selected Michigan guard Zak Zinter in the third round. They like his versatility and could give him some work at center.
Zinter will also back up Pro Bowlers Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller.
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FILE - Los Angeles Rams center Brian Allen is shown before an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023, in Indianapolis. The Cleveland Browns added depth to their solid offensive line on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, agreeing on a contract with free agent center Brian Allen, his agency announced on X. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is making a surprise trip to riot-hit New Caledonia, signaling French authorities’ growing confidence that reinforced security and emergency measures are bringing deadly unrest on the French Pacific territory under control.
Government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot announced the trip, which required a shake-up of Macron’s schedule. “He will go there tonight,” she said after a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday where the president announced that he had decided to travel there himself.
Macron had previously been scheduled in Normandy, northern France, on Wednesday. Instead, he will be flying to the archipelago 10 time zones away from Paris, east of Australia, that has been gripped by deadly armed clashes, looting, arson and other mayhem, with six people killed, including two gendarmes, in the past week.
Paris last Wednesday declared a 12-day minimum state of emergency on the island where indigenous people have long sought independence from France, and rushed in 1,000 reinforcements to bolster security forces that lost control of some parts of the capital, Nouméa.
“Faced with the outbreak of violence, the priority is the return of order to allow dialogue to resume in New Caledonia," Thevenot, the government spokeswoman, said.
“The return to calm is starting to arrive. The situation isn’t quite totally normalized, but the situation is improving. We are clear: Much remains to be done before the return to normal. The government is fully mobilized."
A priority for French authorities since the weekend has been clearing the highway to Nouméa's international airport of barricades and the burned hulks of vehicles, raising the prospect for stranded tourists of finally being able to leave.
Australia and New Zealand sent planes to New Caledonia on Tuesday to begin bringing home stranded citizens.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia had received clearance from French authorities for two evacuation flights.
Hours later, a Royal Australian Air Force C-130 Hercules touched down in Nouméa. The plane can carry 124 passengers, according to the Defense Department.
“We continue to work on further flights,” Wong wrote on the social media platform X on Tuesday.
A RNZAF Hercules C-130 takes off from Whenuapai airbase near Auckland, New Zealand, bound for Noumea, New Caledonia, on a mercy mission to rescue stranded New Zealand tourists, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. The Australian and New Zealand governments say they are sending planes to evacuate their nationals from violence-scorched New Caledonia. (Michael Craig/NZ Herald via AP)
In this photo provided by the Australian Department of Defence, Australian and other tourists board an Australian Airforce Hercules as they prepare to depart from Magenta Airport in Noumea, New Caledonia, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Australia and New Zealand have sent airplanes to New Caledonia to begin bringing home stranded citizens from the violence-wracked French South Pacific territory. (LAC Adam Abela/Royal Australian Airfare via AP)
In this photo provided by the Australian Department of Defence, Australian and other tourists board an Australian Airforce Hercules as they prepare to depart from Magenta Airport in Noumea, New Caledonia, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Australia and New Zealand have sent airplanes to New Caledonia to begin bringing home stranded citizens from the violence-wracked French South Pacific territory. (LAC Adam Abela/Royal Australian Airfare via AP)
