Versatile OL reveals encouraging reason why he signed with Bills

Veteran offensive lineman La'el Collins recently revealed why he signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills: "To dominate."

Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle La'el Collins (71) walks for the locker room before halftime in the second quarter of the NFL Week 7 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Atlanta Falcons at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022. The Bengals led 28-17 at halftime. Mandatory Credit: Sam Greene-The Enquirer Atlanta Falcons At Cincinnati Bengals Nfl Week 7 / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY

La’el Collins is no stranger to having a chip on his shoulder.

It’s something that’s been there since the start of his professional career. Initially viewed as a premier prospect in the 2015 NFL Draft, Collins slipped through the cracks of the multi-round event due to late off-field character concerns. It was a blow for Collins, whose talent was in no way akin to that of the median undrafted free agent; he would land with the Dallas Cowboys, starting 11 games for the team as a rookie despite initially joining as a depth lineman.

He commenced his professional career at left guard, starting 14 games at the position throughout his first two professional seasons. He tore a toe ligament just a few weeks into his sophomore campaign, transitioning to right tackle upon his return in 2017. He would start another 57 games at the spot throughout the rest of his tenure in Dallas, cementing himself as a standout player on one of the better offensive lines in the league before inking a three-year deal with the reigning AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals in the 2022 offseason.

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He would start 15 games at right tackle for the Bengals in the 2022 season before tearing his ACL and MCL in a Week 16 win over the New England Patriots. The ailment would keep him on the shelf for the entire 2023 campaign; he was released in September after initially being placed on the physically unable-to-perform list.

And this winding, adversity-lined road brings Collins to Western New York, where the 30-year-old is fighting to prolong his professional career. He inked a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills—a team he reportedly considered starting his NFL career with—in the 2024 offseason, joining an offensive line that is coming off a 2023 campaign in which it admirably protected otherworldly signal-caller Josh Allen. 

Collins’s professional career hasn’t gone as anticipated in recent years. How does he plan to get it back on track?

By doing something he’s long done—proving doubters wrong.

Nov 18, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) and offensive tackle La'el Collins (71) celebrate after a game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

“They brought me here to play football and I came here to dominate and I’m going to let everything else take care of itself,” Collins said, per WGRZ’s Jonathan Acosta. “I’m going to show up every day and go to work. Help the young guys, and do whatever they ask me.”

Collins didn’t take a single snap throughout the 2023 season, taking the entire campaign to rehab from his significant leg injury (he did join the Cowboys’ practice squad late, but did not see live-game action). The veteran feels as though he could have joined a team and played meaningful football last year, but mental recovery, to the lineman, was as important as physical rehabilitation.

“That’s a tough picture to put yourself in,” Collins said. “To deal with an injury that’s as traumatic as tearing your knee, it’s something you can’t really explain. I felt like last year, I maybe could’ve put myself in a position to play some football, but I knew mentally that the tank was empty.”

Collins joins a Buffalo offensive line that is returning four of five starters; the team parted ways with stalwart center Mitch Morse in the 2024 offseason, planning to fill this vacancy by sliding starting left guard Connor McGovern over to the pivot. Former Super Bowl-winning lineman David Edwards is expected to slot in at left guard in McGovern’s absence; that said, Collins could reasonably win the job with a strong training camp and preseason. With 14 professional starts at the position under his belt, it's not egregious to imagine Collins usurping Edwards on the depth chart.

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Collins could also have been brought in to simply serve as a reliable depth option behind right tackle Spencer Brown; the trait-sy tackle is coming off his best professional season, but Brown’s NFL career has generally yielded mixed results. Having Collins behind him as a proven insurance policy is not a bad position for a team with championship aspirations to be in.

Regardless of his ultimate role, Collins is simply appreciative to have another opportunity. He’s, thus, eager to take advantage of it.

“Every chance I get to take a rep, it doesn’t matter if it’s with the ones, twos, or threes, take advantage of that opportunity that you get,” Collins said. “I’m super grateful and I just look forward to giving Bills Mafia everything left in me. I’m ready to go ball. I’m ready to go dominate.”

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