Cowboys reportedly discussing La'el Collins trade

The Cowboys are engaged in active trade talks involving tackle La’el Collins (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Collins, who is due $10M in 2022, has drawn interest from multiple teams, RapSheet hears.

Pro Football Focus graded Collins as one of the NFL’s best right tackles in 2019. After that, he missed 21 of his next 22 possible games. First came the hip injury which wiped out his 2020 season. Then, in 2021, Collins missed time with a neck injury and a five-game suspension. According to the NFL, Collins attempted to bribe a drug test official last year.

Collins came back in the fall, first as a left guard before moving back to the outside. From a football perspective, Collins’ contract is a bargain — he’s locked in through 2024 at $10M/year. The going rate for tackles of his caliber and age group (29) is significantly higher.

On the other side of the ball, the Cowboys are hoping that DeMarcus Lawrence will agree to a pay cut. Currently, the edge rusher is scheduled to earn $17M in base salary for 2022. If they drop the rest of his five-year, $100M+ extension and use the post-June 1 designation, they can carve out $19M in cap room for the coming year.