Cowboys to work out La'el Collins for possible return to team amid rash of OL injuries

USA Today

20 hours ago

Reinforcements may be coming to the Cowboys offensive line, and this one is a very familiar face.
La'el Collins, who started 71 games for the team from 2015 through 2021, will workout for Dallas coaches in Oxnard on Friday as the team looks to add depth following a rash of training camp injuries along the front five.
Collins, about to turn 33 in July, has reportedly spent the offseason training with Duke Manyweather and OL Masterminds in case there would be an opportunity somewhere for him in 2025.
That opportunity could come from the team that signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Once assumed to be a surefire top-10 draft pick coming out of LSU, Collins saw his stock plummet when it was revealed that state police wanted to talk to him about the shooting death of a pregnant woman with whom he had had a relationship. Though Collins was never considered a suspect, he was passed over by every team in every round of the draft.
Jerry Jones then famously invited him to a dinner with several Cowboys notables and signed him to the team shortly thereafter. He was starting by Week 7.
Collins went on to make 77 game appearances (playoffs included) over six seasons before being released in 2022 with three years left on his contract. The 6-foot-4-inch 315-pounder then signed with the Bengals and played in 15 games before suffering an ACL tear. Cincinnati released him early in the 2023 season.
The Cowboys brought Collins back to their practice squad in January 2024 as an insurance piece, but he didn't see the field before the team was eliminated in a wild-card loss to the Packers.
Collins signed with Buffalo last April but was released during final roster cuts. He sat out the 2024 season.
Though it's been nearly 1,000 days since Collins last played in an NFL game, the Cowboys are not in a position to be terribly choosy about where experienced O-line help is coming from.
Last year's first-round draft pick Tyler Guyton will miss four to six weeks with a bone fracture and sprained knee suffered in practice earlier this week. That news came on top of an ankle concern for starter Terence Steele and a neck injury to Rob Jones. Also this week, Hakeem Adeniji went out with a concussion, and Matt Waletzko was announced to have an ankle issue of his own.
And then on Thursday, former first-rounder and two-time Pro Bowler Tyler Smith left practice with knee soreness.
Collins's ability to play either guard or tackle- as well as his familiarity with many of the Cowboys players, especially close friend Dak Prescott- could help him acclimate quickly if Friday's scheduled workout goes well.
His presence at the team's training camp facility has already made waves.
"I saw [him] back there. It was a very joyous reunion. LC is a guy that I love,' Prescott told reporters Thursday. 'Hopefully, he kills this workout.'
Despite his lengthy layoff, Collins is confident.
"I'm going to protect your daddy," he reportedly told Prescott's daughters.
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