NFL teams can’t make visits to Baton Rouge to meet with LSU offensive lineman La’el Collins until the school’s final exams conclude later this week, but clubs are finding ways around that rule, making informal recruiting pitches and bringing Collins to them rather than going to him. A report last night indicated that the undrafted free agent was visiting the Cowboys in Dallas, and we have more details on that meeting, as well as Thursday’s other updates on Collins:
- The Colts are trying to set up a meeting with Collins, and the Falcons are also in the running to sign him, tweets Michael Cauble of WBRZ in Baton Rouge. In total, Collins has five teams on his radar, and is weighing each situation, considering playing time and other factors, according to Cauble (Twitter link).
- Per Cauble (Twitter link), Collins is scheduled to fly to Miami for a more formal meeting with the Dolphins within the next 24 hours.
Earlier updates:
- Collins received the “red carpet treatment” from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who hosted the lineman at his private residence in Dallas, and was joined by Tony Romo and the team’s offensive line, writes Chad Sabadie of Fox 8 New Orleans. According to Sabadie’s source, Jones told Collins that the Cowboys “want to assemble the greatest offensive line ever.”
- Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter links), who also reported on Collins’ meeting with the Cowboys, writes that the rookie lineman is taking his time, weighing his options, and looking for the best fit.
- Jordan Raanan of NJ.com examines what sort of money teams could offer to Collins, noting that clubs already committing a good chunk of bonus money to other undrafted free agents could be at a slight disadvantage, since they’d have little left to offer from their UDFA pools.