Report: Dallas Cowboys sign undrafted OT La’el Collins
A few days after Baton Rouge, La. police spoke to La’el Collins about the murder of a pregnant woman he had known, the Dallas Cowboys reportedly have signed him as an undrafted free agent, per Dallas Morning News’ Charean Williams.
Collins was projected to be a first-round pick in last week’s draft but was sent home from Chicago after word got out that police wanted to speak with him about the murder of Brittney Mills, a woman believed to be Collins’ ex-girlfriend.
Instead, Collins went undrafted — with NFL teams unsure of his potential involvement in the case and Collins’ agents saying he would not sign with a team if he was taken after the third round — and remained in limbo. He spoke with police and has not been named a suspect, or even a person of interest, in the case. Also, a paternity test determined that Collins was not the father of Mills’ baby.
Mills was shot and killed at her home on April 24. The baby lived for a few days before dying on May 1.
Collins had been wooed by NFL teams the past few days, with unofficial courting meetings with coaches and former LSU teammates happening in a bizarre, unique process. But the Cowboys, who already have one of the best offensive lines in football, apparently swept Collins off his feet starting on Wednesday night with a meeting with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
The Cowboys have taken several chances this offseason, from the signing of troubled defensive end Greg Hardy to the drafting of Nebraska’s Randy Gregory and now the Collins addition. Hardy was involved in a highly publicized domestic violence case last season, Gregory has tested positive for marijuana and battled personal demons that caused his fall in the draft and Collins — in one of the more strange draft-related stories in some years — fell out of the draft after appearing to be a top-20 selection.
Collins’ deal with the Cowboys, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, is fully guaranteed.
It’s worth noting that Collins has not been named a suspect, but he also has not been totally cleared of any wrongdoing, either. We certainly hope he had nothing to do with the heinous crime, and one potential motive was eliminated with the paternity test. But the police have yet to say Collins had absolutely nothing to do with the crime, either., and it’s not out of bounds to point that out. Two NFL teams that spoke to the Shutdown Corner Wednesday night said they were only interested in signing Collins once he had been fully cleared in the case.
If all these moves work out, the Cowboys could look like geniuses. But if not, some or all of these moves could come back to bite them.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
