Cowboys Odd Retirement Rumor Addressed By Agent
FRISCO - To be frank, we weren't even aware there was a "La'el Collins retirement rumor'' floating around out there. In fact, not even an internet search for such a rumor reveals its existence.
So maybe agent .. is swatting a fly with a cannon when he takes to social media to denounce "the rumors.''
"To address the rumors,'' agent Deryk Gilmore wrote on Saturday, "no, my client La’el Collins is not retiring. He loves football and the Dallas Cowboys and is working for a Super Bowl ring. Have a blessed weekend everyone!''
Well, this is good. Collins is just 27, with Pro Bowl-level talent, and with four years left on a contract with a salary-cap impact of about $12 million annually.
But ... what rumors? As one Cowboys fan replied on Twitter ...
It is possible that Gilmore was approached with a rumor, and that such a rumor was private. But why go public with something private?
In any event, Collins is fully expected to return for 2021 after a difficult season in which physical problems stacked up starting at training camp, when he was overweight and was moved to PUP. Shortly after that, he sustained a hip injury and may have also injured a groin.
At the end of camp, he was put on IR and missed the entire season.
Fellow tackle Tyron Smith, meanwhile, missed almost the entire year after neck surgery; there has been speculation about his future, though the Cowboys say they are planning on his return. And guard Zack Martin missed the final six games, all of that, combined with Dak Prescott's Week 5 season-ending injury, is much of what got Dallas to just 6-10.
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Previous to Gilmore's tweet, we were told that Collins is in DFW, working out and doing well. One source says the organization has tried to guide Collins into making sure he maintains a proper weight in the offseaon.
But otherwise? There is no issue here. Nor, really, is there even a much of rumor here.