La’el Collins‘ first post-Cowboys visit will be in Cincinnati. The Bengals will host the veteran right tackle, according to Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Collins is flying to Ohio Thursday night, with the visit set for Friday, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio and The Athletic’s Jeff Howe.
As expected, the Bengals have been active in attempting to repair their beleaguered offensive line. They have signed interior blockers Alex Cappa and Ted Karras. Collins checks in with a slightly higher profile than both and would certainly be an upgrade for the defending AFC champions at right tackle.
Bengals offensive line coach Frank Pollack was Collins’ first NFL position coach, with Dallas from 2015-17. Pollack’s position group has been under siege for multiple seasons, with the Bengals having seen Joe Burrow suffer a torn ACL and lead the NFL in sacks taken last season. The Bengals have Jonah Williams set to return at left tackle, but the team has operated this week with a purpose to upgrade up front, after not devoting much in the way of resources to Burrow’s first two O-lines.
Collins has been regarded as one of the NFL’s best right tackles for a few years now, but the former high-end prospect-turned-UDFA has not been consistently available during the 2020s. After missing all of the 2020 season due to injury, Collins saw a PED suspension shelve him for five games last year. Still, he came back and regained his job, making 10 starts for the NFC East champion Cowboys.
Dallas cut Collins for financial reasons, with the team’s longtime right tackle following Amari Cooper off the team’s payroll. The Bengals making this signing would nearly complete their O-line overhaul. Burrow, per The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr., is helping recruit Collins, who is also an LSU alum.
If the Bengals cannot close a deal with Collins on his visit, the Patriots and Dolphins have interest, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.
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