La’el Collins

AFC South Notes: Colts, Levis, Texans

Anthony Richardson‘s on-field work this season created an untenable setup for the Colts, who benched their starting quarterback for 39-year-old Joe Flacco. While the Colts are not giving up on Richardson — even as rebounds from early-career benchings are less common than those leading to downward tumbles — the second-year passer will also need to adjust his preparation. The Colts want to see Richardson improve in that area, with ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder going as far as indicating the former No. 4 overall pick’s pregame prep and lack of proper awareness of his job’s importance represented a bigger reason for the benching compared to the in-game performances.

Richardson taking the unusual step to sub himself out midway through a drive became a flashpoint for the Colts, who viewed the decision in Houston as the “last straw.” It is not too surprising to see Richardson struggle with preparation, seeing as he was a one-year Florida starter who entered the draft as a raw prospect. The Colts took a gamble on a player who would not have fallen much farther in that draft, but the team that has been unable to find QB stability post-Andrew Luck is in a holding pattern now. Flacco did not produce much Sunday night in Minnesota, but Indianapolis’ adjusted plan to play the veteran and develop the rookie is still a go for Week 10.

Here is the latest from the AFC South:

  • Xavier Worthy is the last man standing among the Chiefs’ Week 1 WR trio, but the Colts were connected to the former Texas Longhorns speedster in Round 1. After hosting Worthy on a “30” visit and then being connected to them shortly before the draft, the eventual Kansas City resident confirmed he spoke with the Colts during Day 1 of the draft. Worthy said the call with the Colts ended abruptly, telling Rich Eisen the Indy representative hung up on him. The Colts had made offers to trade up for a pass catcher but ended the defensive drought to open the draft by selecting EDGE Laiatu Latu at No. 15. Worthy went to the Chiefs, via a trade with the Bills, at No. 28. The Colts circled back to their WR aim by drafting Worthy college teammate Adonai Mitchell in Round 2.
  • The Titans are hopeful Will Levis returns for Week 10, Brian Callahan said Monday. Levis returned the game after his shoulder injury but was subsequently parked to go through rehab. Tennessee has turned to Mason Rudolph over the past three games but plans to reinstall Levis as the starter, despite his early-season miscues, once he recovers.
  • The Texans became the latest team to work out La’el Collins, doing so today. Houston also brought in Tremayne Anchrum and Ike Boettger, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, with Anchrum signing to the team’s practice squad. The Texans placed Kenyon Green on IR with another shoulder injury last week. Collins, now 31, has been in free agency since failing to make the Bills’ 53-man roster in training camp. The former Cowboys and Bengals RT starter has not played in a regular-season game since sustaining ACL and MCL tears in Week 16 of the 2022 season.

Bills Pare Roster To 53; LB Matt Milano Receives IR-Return Designation

Here is how the Bills dropped their roster to the 53-man limit:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

  • T Travis Clayton

Placed on IR (return designation)

Milano suffered a biceps tear and will aim to return late in the season, though the All-Pro linebacker’s injury trouble is obviously a big-picture concern at this point. The Bills are also using one of their eight IR activations, mandated for teams who take advantage of the new rule to designate IR-return players today, on a backup running back. That is a rather interesting decision, as Evans has totaled just 62 carries since being drafted in the 2020 third round.

Residing on the Bills’ roster bubble going into camp, Damar Hamlin made the team. Ditto Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who joined Hamlin on the bubble. The bubble burst — for the time being, at least — on Collins and Clapp, who were vying for swing spots. Collins had been shuttled to guard — where he had not played since 2016 — in recent practices. Jackson joined the Bills after they ran into some injury trouble at safety early in camp.

Steveson, who has an Olympic wrestling gold medal, could be a practice squad candidate. The Eagles carried Olympian hurdler Devon Allen on their P-squad for two years, though the latter has far more football seasoning compared to Steveson. Attempting to follow in his father’s footsteps by securing a Bills gig, Gore is a P-squad candidate, per the Buffalo News’ Ryan O’Halloran. He will need to clear waivers first.

Bills Shift La’el Collins To Guard; Latest On Team’s CB Situation

La’el Collins has worked exclusively at tackle since 2017. The Cowboys’ position change at the time stuck, with the former first-round guard prospect quickly establishing himself as a right tackle starter. Eight years after he last played guard in a game, the former Dallas and Cincinnati starter’s last shot with Buffalo appears to hinge on a move back.

The Bills are now viewing Collins as a guard-only option, according to The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia (subscription required). This has been an interesting transition for the veteran blocker, as the Bills had hoped he would become a swing backup. But Collins has struggled, putting his roster spot in jeopardy.

A pre-camp assessment of Collins’ likelihood for the 53-man roster pointed to a bubble scenario forming, but the Bills guaranteed the 86-game starter $1.5MM upon signing him in April. Collins had visited late last season but did not sign. The Bengals cut Collins from their reserve/PUP list last September, leading to a missed season. Collins had sustained ACL and MCL tears in Week 16 of the 2022 campaign, and the Bengals were generally unhappy with their three-year, $21MM free agency investment in the veteran tackle.

Cincinnati had shut the door on Collins potentially moving to guard to accommodate Orlando Brown Jr.‘s arrival last year, but it appears the Bills view him differently. Collins started 14 games at guard from 2015-16, but a foot injury ended his run as an inside presence. Dallas shifted the LSU product to tackle before the 2017 season and used him as its RT starter in four of the next five seasons. This transition scored Collins two Cowboys extensions. Now 31, he faces a challenge to reacclimate to guard.

Collins and Will Clapp have struggled during the run-up to cutdown day, Buscaglia adds, noting the Bills subbed out the veterans for younger players while the second-team offense was in the game against the Steelers. Clapp started 11 Chargers games last season, filling in for Corey Linsley after the latter’s move to the NFI list, and has made 21 career starts. Clapp, 28, and Collins represent the only veteran backup options for Buffalo up front, but the team is trying UDFA Richard Gouraige at both tackle and guard.

Gouraige, a 2023 signee, spent last season on Buffalo’s practice squad. The team has 2023 swing tackle Ryan Van Demark and rookie fifth-rounder Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, an All-American center at Georgia, locked into roster spots. Ditto Alec Anderson, a 2022 UDFA, Buscaglia adds. Anderson has yet to play a regular-season snap, but it appears the Bills trust him more than the newly acquired vets.

Collins and Clapp would provide experience, and while there might be room on the Bills’ roster for one of the two, the team may not want to carry both. Clapp signed a one-year, $1.29MM deal with $288K guaranteed.

Elsewhere on the Bills’ roster, it does not look like Kaiir Elam is expected to unseat Christian Benford at cornerback. The latter, a former sixth-round pick who quickly usurped the ex-first-rounder back in 2022, has a “vise grip” on the team’s boundary CB job opposite Rasul Douglas, the Buffalo News’ Mark Gaughan writes.

Elam has only started eight games since being the No. 23 overall pick in 2022. Benford, conversely, has made 19 starts — including 14 last season. Elam tore an ankle ligament before last season and landed on IR after attempting to play through the malady. While Gaughan indicates Elam has not accounted himself poorly, Benford has been better and appears in no danger of losing his starting job. Pro Football Focus ranked Benford as last year’s eighth-best corner.

The Bills benched Elam in November 2022 and have not relied on him as a regular starter since. Even with Tre’Davious White now in Los Angeles, Elam appears on track to enter the season as a backup.

La’el Collins, Deion Jones Facing Uphill Battles To Make Bills’ 53-Man Roster?

The Bills’ wide receiver situation brings considerable uncertainty, and a host of veterans will vie for roster spots in training camp. Buffalo added several low-cost vets at other positions as well, setting up interesting competitions.

Two of these are present at linebacker, where Nicholas Morrow joins Deion Jones to supply depth for a team that was down to third-stringers by the time it ran into the Chiefs in the divisional round. Buffalo enjoyed better health along its offensive line, but the team still signed La’el Collinsafter his year off — to compete for a swing role. Despite the profiles Collins and Jones carry, they are not locks to make the four-time reigning AFC East champions’ roster.

[RELATED: Bills S Damar Hamlin On Roster Bubble]

Collins, who signed a one-year deal worth $1.75MM, met with Bills brass late last season but eventually circled back to the Cowboys for what turned out to be a non-playing role. Most recently in place as the Bengals’ starting right tackle, Collins’ career turned when he suffered ACL and MCL tears in Week 16 of the 2022 season. The Bengals released him from their reserve/PUP list last September.

While Jones and Morrow bring similar experience, Collins will battle an unseasoned pro for Buffalo’s swing tackle job. As of now, the Buffalo News’ Ryan O’Halloran notes Ryan Van Demark is the early frontrunner to land that gig. Van Demark, who beat out David Quessenberry for the OT3 role last year, entered the league as a Colts UDFA in 2022 before spending that season on the Bills’ practice squad. Van Demark played 47 offensive snaps as a backup last season, as the Bills kept their starters on the field.

Collins’ roster spot may come down to how starting right tackle Spencer Brown looks following offseason shoulder surgery. Van Demark took the first-string RT reps during Buffalo’s offseason program. Labeling The Bills are likely to carry only one pure backup tackle. Collins, 30, brings guard experience but that occurred during his first two NFL seasons (2015-16). The Bengals did not consider sliding Collins to guard after the Orlando Brown Jr. signing.

A practice squad spot could await Collins in the event he cannot unseat Van Demark when the pads come on, though that would probably depend on another team’s willingness to dangle a roster spot. It would cost the Bills $1.5MM in dead money to release Collins, whereas dropping Jones would not bring any cap penalties due to the veteran linebacker not receiving any guaranteed money.

The Bills plan to use the recovering Matt Milano and third-year cog Terrel Bernard as their three-down linebackers, per O’Halloran, with 2023 third-rounder Dorian Williams assured of a spot as well. Tyrel Dodson signed with the Seahawks this offseason. Buffalo, which needed to use old friend A.J. Klein in an emergency circumstance in the playoffs, added Morrow and Jones this offseason. Morrow, who signed for $1.5MM ($750K guaranteed) in March, started 12 Eagles games last season but once again did not command a notable market. Nevertheless, O’Halloran expects the ex-Raiders and Bears starter to have an early leg up on Jones to be the team’s veteran backup presence at linebacker.

Jones, 29, made three starts for the Panthers last season but has seen his playing time reduced significantly since his Falcons days. Atlanta traded the former Pro Bowler to Cleveland during the 2022 season, and although he landed a 2024 gig in May after not joining the Panthers until August last year, the presences of Morrow (29 starts since 2022), fifth-round pick Edefuan Ulofoshio and third-year backup Baylon Spector complicate the former Falcons extension recipient’s path to the Bills’ final 53.

With the NFL loosening restrictions on vested veterans’ practice squad eligibility, it is not difficult to envision Collins and Jones sticking around as experienced options in the event more injury trouble occurs. Both have work to do to avoid the P-squad coming into play.

OL La’el Collins Addresses Bills Deal, Recovery Process

La’el Collins‘ time with the Bengals came to an unceremonious end, and a late-season Cowboys deal did not result in any playing time. Attempting to restart his career, the veteran offensive lineman took a contract with the Bills in free agency, something he recently reflected on.

Collins noted (via Jonathan Acosta of WGRZ2) the Bills’ dominant showing in the run game against the Cowboys last season caught his attention. That game helped convince him to sign in Buffalo and in doing so join a team which made a concerted effort to excel on the ground following the transition from Ken Dorsey to Joe Brady as offensive coordinator. The 30-year-old will look to carve out a role as a backup tackle or a guard option with his new team.

After serving as a full-time right tackle starter throughout much of his Cowboys tenure and his 2022 Bengals campaign, Collins’ career was interrupted by ACL and MCL tears. That led to a stint on the PUP list and his eventual release. Between that point and the deal which landed him on Dallas’ practice squad, the former UDFA was unsure if his NFL career would continue.

“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.

“That was tough days,” he continued. “That was days where you have 70,000 thoughts in your head running crazy, telling you you might not be good enough. You might not come back.”

A season at full health will be the goal in Collins’ case as he begins his Bills tenure. The LSU alum will find himself behind Spencer Brown on the depth chart for the right tackle spot, but he could provide an experienced backup option at that position. Plenty of time has passed since he last played guard, but he could serve in a second-team capacity along the interior for Buffalo. Strong play – should he find himself in the lineup – would help his free agent stock considerably.

Collins noted he is still in the process of returning to 100% with respect to his knee, and the progress he makes on that front will be key once training camp opens. If he winds up seeing offensive playing time, though, Buffalo could prove to be a suitable environment for his career to get back on track.

Bills To Sign T La’el Collins

The Bills hosted La’el Collins on a visit during last season, but the veteran tackle — whom the Bengals released from their reserve/PUP list in September — did not end up signing. After briefly catching on with the Cowboys last year, Collins is coming back to New York.

Collins has a one-year deal in place with Buffalo, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. After working out for the Bills in late December, Collins will have a chance to resume his career. The veteran right tackle has not played in a game since December 2022.

[RELATED: Bills Trade Stefon Diggs To Texans]

Sent to free agency as a Dallas cap casualty in 2022, Collins wound up in Cincinnati on a three-year, $21MM deal. But ACL and MCL tears in late December of that year changed his Bengals path. Cincy changed up its tackle plan in 2023, signing Orlando Brown Jr. and kicking three-year left tackle Jonah Williams to the right side. This did not end up bringing a Williams-Collins competition, with the latter starting the season the PUP list. The Bengals soon cut Collins from the PUP list, and he did not catch on anywhere for months.

The Bengals were not exactly pleased with Collins’ form in 2022, but the veteran earned two extensions with the Cowboys for his work as a right tackle. After beginning his career at guard, the Cowboys kicked him outside opposite Tyron Smith. Collins worked as Smith’s primary bookend from 2017-21. That said, Collins missed all of the 2020 season due to injury and incurred a PED ban in 2021. This did not deter the Bengals, who needed O-line help after seeing teams tee off on Joe Burrow the previous year. But Collins did not prove a multiyear solution.

Collins, 30, has made 86 career starts. He missed only one game from 2017-19 and started in 15 Bengals contests in 2022. More than a year removed from his knee injury, Collins should have a better chance of bouncing back compared to where he was in 2023. The Cowboys added Collins in early January but never ended up using him in a game.

The Bills are set to return four of their five starters from one of the NFL’s healthiest O-lines. The team has Spencer Brown in place at right tackle. A 2021 third-round pick, Brown has started 41 games as a pro. This includes a 17-game 2023 season. After grading Brown outside the top 70 at tackle in 2022, Pro Football Focus slotted him 32nd last season. Collins could conceivably compete with the incumbent here, but he also may be a swingman. That said, Collins does not have NFL experience at left tackle.

Buffalo’s good health up front did not make a swingman relevant last season, but the team will give Collins a shot. It will be interesting to see if the four-time reigning AFC East champs open a right tackle competition or if the longtime starter will be relegated to a backup role early.

Cowboys, La’el Collins Agree To Deal

JANUARY 3, 6:50pm: The Cowboys and Collins have officially come to an agreement, according to Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report.

JANUARY 3, 11:00am: The Cowboys have not officially brought back Collins, with NFL.com’s Jane Slater indicating an agreement is not complete. Slater adds both sides want this to come to pass, but Mike McCarthy confirmed Wednesday the contract is not done.

Being a practice squad agreement, this deal does not bring much in terms of complications. McCarthy added (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota) the sides are “working through some things.” A Collins return appears likely, but it appears the particulars will take some time.

JANUARY 2: La’el Collins‘ lengthy free agency stay will end Tuesday. The visit Collins made to his original NFL home earlier today will result in a reunion. The Cowboys are bringing the veteran offensive lineman back, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report.

This will be a practice squad deal, but it will be Collins’ first agreement since the Bengals cut him from their reserve/PUP list in September. Collins had met with the Jets, Giants and Bills (last week) since that separation but did not find a new gig. The Cowboys, who employed him from 2015-21, will step in and greenlight a return.

Initially signing Collins — a first-round-caliber talent who fell out of the 2015 draft due to an off-field concern at the time — as a UDFA, the Cowboys moved him from guard to right tackle early in his career and gave him two extensions to reward him for work at his second NFL position. Collins has been a right tackle regular for many years, though speedbumps have emerged during his career. This year qualifies, after the Bengals reconfigured their O-line without him in their first-string plans.

Collins operated as Dallas’ full-time right tackle from 2017-19 and again in 2021, though a PED suspension marred the final season of his first Cowboys stint. The team will sign off on a second stay, and Collins will represent insurance for a Cowboys team that has dealt with some injuries up front. Left guard Tyler Smith came out of Dallas’ Week 17 game with a full plantar fascia tear, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer notes. Tyron Smith and Zack Martin have dealt with maladies this year as well, though the former has logged 12 starts and has made a bigger contribution to this year’s Cowboys effort than last season’s.

Given a big-ticket extension this summer, Terence Steele — who suffered a torn ACL late last season — has not recaptured his pre-injury form just yet. Pro Football Focus ranks Steele in the bottom 10 among tackle regulars this season (75th), well off his quality 2022 performance that garnered the five-year, $82.5MM extension. The Cowboys plugged in Steele, a former UDFA, to succeed Collins last year — after the team designated the latter as a post-June 1 cut. Collins, 30, is set to return as insurance to close out what may still end up a lost year for the veteran blocker.

Tyler Smith has not been ruled out for Week 18, though Collins has not played guard in many years. The Cowboys slid the LSU alum to right tackle in 2017, and the Bengals did not consider kicking him back inside to accommodate the Orlando Brown Jr.. addition. Jonah Williams replaced Collins at RT this season. Collins has 86 starts on his resume but has not yet bounced back from the ACL and MCL tears he suffered in Week 16 of the 2022 season. The Cowboys made decent use of P-squad addition Jason Peters last season; Collins now resides in the veteran insurance role.

Cowboys To Sign LB Damien Wilson

JANUARY 3: As is the case with Collins, Wilson’s visit has produced an agreement. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the latter has signed to the Cowboys’ practice squad, while David Moore of the Dallas Morning News adds Wilson and Collins will likely have their respective deals finalized tomorrow. Wilson will therefore be available for the team’s regular season finale as well as the playoffs.

JANUARY 2: In preparation for the postseason, the Cowboys are bringing in a pair of familiar faces. Offensive tackle La’el Collins is visiting Dallas today, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report. The same is true of linebacker Damien Wilson, per ESPN’s Todd Archer.

Both players began their careers with the Cowboys. Collins logged 71 starts across six seasons in Dallas, most of which came at right tackle. In his debut season, however, he played at left guard, something which could be of signficant importance given the injury status of Tyler Smith. The latter has been dealing with a plantar fascia tear, so Collins could serve as veteran insurance along the interior.

The former UDFA could also step in at right tackle if called upon. His replacement, Terence Steele, has struggled in his second season as a starter at that position. A strong showing in 2022 earned Steele a five-year, $82.5MM deal this fall, but the Texas Tech product has seen his PFF evaluation regress to a mark of 50.6 this year. Collins (who visited the Bills last week) would provide experience along the edge if he were to return to Dallas.

Wilson, like Collins, has not played in 2023. The 30-year-old played for the Cowboys from 2015-18, and the expiration of his rookie contract led to a number of short-team deals with the Chiefs, Jaguars and Panthers. Halfway into a two-year contract with Carolina, Wilson was released. That cost-cutting move followed the second arrest of his career, and he has not been connected to an NFL gig until today.

That is due in part to the four-game suspension he served earlier in the campaign, but he is free to join any interested team in advance of the playoffs. In need of depth at the second level due to injuries at the linebacker position, the Cowboys would represent a logical landing spot for Wilson as he aims to see game time this year and help his free agent stock along the way.

Both players will undergo workouts in the near future. Should they be successful, the Cowboys would likely add them to the practice squad while returning to game shape. One or both could find themselves in position to make a contribution to Dallas in the playoffs should today’s audition produce an agreement.

Bills Audition T La’el Collins

Off the grid for a while after multiple October workouts, La’el Collins has resurfaced. The Bills brought in the veteran blocker for a Friday workout, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

This is close to being a lost season for Collins, who may end up attempting to follow in Jimmy Graham and Odell Beckham Jr.‘s footsteps by skipping a season and returning the following year. The Bengals released Collins from their reserve/PUP list in September, and while several teams checked on the experienced tackle, no deal emerged. The Jets and Giants met with Collins in October.

Collins’ ACL and MCL tears occurred in Week 16 of last season. Prior to that, he was Cincinnati’s unquestioned starter at right tackle. The Cowboys used Collins as such from 2017-19 and again, following a missed season, in 2021. After the Cowboys had extended Collins twice, they made him a 2021 post-June 1 cut. The Bengals swooped in, giving Collins a three-year, $21MM deal in 2022. But they were not too thrilled about their investment. The team shifted course in March, giving Orlando Brown Jr. a $16MM-per-year deal and kicking Jonah Williams to the right side.

Buffalo has Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown in place at tackle, with rookie Ryan Van Demark as the swingman. The team just waived veteran Germain Ifedi, who had resided on the roster all season. Ifedi, however, did not see any action for the Bills this year. Neither Dawkins nor Brown have missed any time this season; in what has thus far been a clean year for Buffalo’s tackles, Van Demark has only played 37 offensive snaps.

On the verge of sitting out his age-30 season, Collins has 86 starts on his resume. He added three more in the playoffs. A team could look to bring in Collins as a practice squad stash ahead of the postseason. Barring that, the eight-year veteran is close to needing to regroup and aim to catch on during unrestricted free agency next year.

Jets Audition T La’el Collins; Giants Book Meeting

The Jets have their original starting left tackle and a guard-turned-right tackle on IR. Alijah Vera-Tucker‘s latest season-ending injury will lead to the team exploring the top option available.

La’el Collins worked out for the Jets on Tuesday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. The Bengals released Collins from their reserve/PUP list nearly a month ago. While the veteran suffered ACL and MCL tears in late December last year, he passed a physical in late September. A number of teams have expressed interest.

With the Jets’ tackle positions being a problem for months now, they made sense as a team that would look into Collins. The Jets have moved Mekhi Becton back to left tackle, though the former first-round pick spent time on the sidelines in Week 5 due to an injury. Duane Brown is on IR due to a hip malady; this comes after the former Pro Bowler spent the offseason recovering from rotator cuff surgery.

Multiple visits were always likely for Collins, who plays a premium position and is going into his age-30 season. The Giants will also meet with the eight-year veteran, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets. In worse shape compared to the Jets up front, the Giants have played without starter Andrew Thomas for the past four games. Thomas sustained a setback in his return from a hamstring injury, and the All-Pro’s absence as wreaked havoc for the Giants, who are dealing with injuries on the interior as well.

Collins has made 86 career starts; 15 of those came for the Bengals last season. Given a three-year, $21MM contract following his Cowboys release, Collins went down in Week 16 last season. The Bengals, who subsequently lost two other O-line starters before their shorthanded playoff games in Buffalo and Kansas City, moved to replace Collins by signing Orlando Brown Jr. to play left tackle and sliding Jonah Williams to the right side. After shifting Collins from the active/PUP list to the reserve/PUP list, the Bengals cut him.

The Bengals were not thrilled with Collins’ pre-injury work last year, but the former first-round talent-turned-UDFA secured two extensions with the Cowboys and operated as their right tackle from 2017-19 and again in 2021 (Collins missed all of 2020 due to injury). The Jets and Giants are also in need, with other teams likely monitoring the experienced blocker as well.

The Giants have not seen Evan Neal develop into a quality starter on the right side yet, and the team has seen center John Michael Schmitz and guard Shane Lemieux go down — both on a failed “Tush Push” attempt in Week 4. The Jets have Max Mitchell and Billy Turner in place as right tackle insurance. One of them will need to start in place of Vera-Tucker, whom the team had moved from right guard once again, after his Achilles tear. Vera-Tucker suffered a season-ending injury in Denver for the second straight year.