La'el Collins - an avid fisherman who even after being cut by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2022 offseason kept the house he purchased in 2018 that is situated on Lake Lewisville - is coming "home.''
Literally.
Collins, 30, a close friend of Dak Prescott who once considered him the QB's “bodyguard,'' is coming off the couch to re-up with the Cowboys after a Tuesday free agent workout here at The Star in Frisco.
We used to call it "Second-Chance Valley Ranch.'' The team's headquarters has changed. But the concept is the same ... especially as the playoff-bound Cowboys have a health concern or two in their offensive line.
Collins' issues in Dallas were never about talent. There was the story of him trying to bribe a urine test-taker due to his presence in the NFL substance abuse program. There was the weight issue that led to an injury issue. There was, frankly, a concern about maturity.
Has Collins eliminated all of that? Or does Dallas, with left guard Tyler Smith trying to play with a torn plantar fascia, simply need help this desperately?
Collins, a blue-chip offensive lineman when he entered the NFL out of LSU, is now 30, and he has spent most of this season a free agent after his release from the Cincinnati Bengals.
Based on his talent, he should've been a first-round pick. But controversy about his background - most of it unfair - ruined that. In the end, Collins spent the majority of his career with the Cowboys. He started 71 of the 74 games he played for "America's Team" and he demonstrated position flex while helping the offensive line become one of the best in the NFL throughout the mid-to-late 2010s.
The Cowboys tired of some of his behavioral issues and released him in 2022. But now he's back ... settling in at "home'' - at Lake Lewisville and at The Star.
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