anybody know what this is? EP-330 cookbox part...

[rmswenson747]

i have a weber EP-330, and was recently cleaning it out.  there is a 'plate' mounted inside the front edge of the cookbox, over the 3 left burner tubes (left, sear, and center).  it is all rusted out, as you can see from the attached picture.   there isn't an equivalent plate of the right most burner tube.

anybody know what this is?  most importantly, do i need to replace it?  i have totally removed it, as it was just crumbling apart.

thanks...

(also, can someone tell me how to post a picture in the message?  when i hit the picture icon, it just inserts img / img)