The Bills hosted La’el Collins on a visit during last season, but the veteran tackle — whom the Bengals released from their reserve/PUP list in September — did not end up signing. After briefly catching on with the Cowboys last year, Collins is coming back to New York.
Collins has a one-year deal in place with Buffalo, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. After visiting the Bills in late December, Collins will have a chance to resume his career. The veteran right tackle has not played in a game since December 2022.
Sent to free agency as a Dallas cap casualty in 2022, Collins wound up in Cincinnati on a three-year, $21M deal. But ACL and MCL tears in late December of that year changed his Bengals path. Cincy changed up its tackle plan in 2023, signing Orlando Brown Jr. and kicking three-year left tackle Jonah Williams to the right side. This did not end up bringing a Williams-Collins competition, with the latter starting the season the PUP list. The Bengals soon cut Collins from the PUP list, and he did not catch on anywhere for months.
The Bengals were not exactly pleased with Collins’ form in 2022, but the veteran earned two extensions with the Cowboys for his work as a right tackle. After beginning his career at guard, the Cowboys kicked him outside opposite Tyron Smith. Collins worked as Smith’s primary bookend from 2017-21. That said, Collins missed all of the 2020 season due to injury and incurred a PED ban in 2021. This did not deter the Bengals, who needed O-line help after seeing teams tee off on Joe Burrow the previous year. But Collins did not prove a multiyear solution.
Now 30, Collins has made 86 career starts. He missed only one game from 2017-19 and started in 15 Bengals contests in 2022. More than a year removed from his knee injury, Collins should have a better chance of bouncing back compared to where he was in 2023. The Cowboys added Collins in early January but never ended up using him in a game.
The Bills are set to return four of their five starters from one of the NFL’s healthiest O-lines. The team has Spencer Brown in place at right tackle. A 2021 third-round pick, Brown has started 41 games as a pro. This includes a 17-game 2023 season. After grading Brown outside the top 70 at tackle in 2022, Pro Football Focus slotted him 32nd last season. Collins could conceivably compete with the incumbent here, but he also may be a swingman. That said, Collins does not have NFL experience at left tackle.
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