Ex-Cowboys OT La'el Collins reportedly signs with Bengals

La'el Collins, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, has found a new home. According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the offensive tackle is signing with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Details about the contract weren't immediately available. Collins had reportedly been given permission to seek a trade last week, and the Cowboys released him on Thursday.

Collins was signed by the Cowboys in 2015 as an undrafted free agent, and he'd been with them ever since. He was extremely reliable early in his career, especially after the Cowboys moved him to right tackle in 2017. From 2017-19 Collins started 47 of 48 games and earned himself a $50 million contract, but the streak didn't last. A hip injury that required surgery cost him the entire 2020 season, and he missed five games in 2021 when the NFL suspended him for violating the substance abuse policy. He reportedly missed seven drug tests and allegedly tried to bribe one of the NFL's test collectors.

Collins missed 21 of 33 games from 2020-21. Right tackle Terence Steele stepped up in his absence, and that's presumably who will be replacing Collins full time on the Cowboys.

Pretty much everyone had been connecting Collins to Cincy, and it wasn't hard to see why. The Bengals desperately need to protect quarterback Joe Burrow. (To that end, they've also signed center Ted Karras and guard Alex Cappa.) And Collins seems to have liked the organization well enough to cancel a meeting with another team that was scheduled on Sunday. He also got the full-court press from Bengals all-timer Chad Johnson, which probably didn't hurt.