Free agent OL La’el Collins reportedly scheduled to meet with a doctor on Monday
It's no secret that the New England Patriots have a serious issue across the offensive line, with the entire group injured. And because of that, the Patriots have shown interest in former Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle La’el Collins. Yet, they reportedly aren't the only ones interested in Collins, and the tackle is ensuring […]
It's no secret that the New England Patriots have a serious issue across the offensive line, with the entire group injured.
And because of that, the Patriots have shown interest in former Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle La’el Collins.
Yet, they reportedly aren't the only ones interested in Collins, and the tackle is ensuring that he is ready to go ahead of the 2023 season.
"Sources: Free agent OT La’el Collins has received interest from nearly a dozen teams. Collins, who tore his ACL in December, is scheduled to meet on Monday with Dr. Eldridge of UCLA," NFL Insider Jordan Schultz reports.
The Bengals released Collins from the physically unable to perform list on Wednesday. The tackle signed with the Bengals in March 2022 and started 15 games for them, but tore his left ACL and MCL in December, ending his season.
That injury forced him to start the 2023 season on the reserve/PUP list.
Prior to playing for the Bengals, Collins played for the Dallas Cowboys for seven seasons. Across his eight seasons in the league, Collins has appeared in 89 games.
The Patriots have some problems on the offensive line, having placed Conor McDermott and Riley Reiff on injured reserve. McDermott is out for the entire season, but Reiff is on short-term IR. In the season opener, New England was also without Cole Strange and Michael Onwenu, with head coach Bill Belichick saying that "they'll eventually play."
"We’ll seen when that is, just take it day by day," Belichick told the media on Wednesday. "The last time they practiced was Friday. So, it’s five days later, we’ll see what kind of progress they’ve made and go from there."
And now, Trent Brown and rookie Sidy Sow appeared on Wednesday's injury report, both having concussions. They were also the only two missing from Thursday's media attended portion of practice.
Collins has the possibility to come into New England and fix a major problem area, so it will be interesting to see if the Patriots make a move for the offensive tackle.
Featured Image via Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
