La’el Collins’ came to Dallas on Wednesday night and became a Dallas Cowboy on Thursday.
Collins, a second-team All-American and first-team All-SEC offensive tackle who was considered a can’t-miss, first-round prospect in the 2015 NFL draft, signed a three-year, fully-guaranteed contract to join the Cowboys.
Rookie free agents generally sign three-year deals worth $435,000 in 2015, $525,000 in 2016, and $615,000 in 2017. A top-20 first-round pick usually gets a four-year contract worth more than $10 million with a signing bonus in excess of $4 million.
Collins started at left guard as a sophomore before moving to left tackle in his final two seasons.
He went undrafted last weekend because he was sought in questioning by Baton Rouge, La., police in the April 24 shooting death of his pregnant former girlfriend Brittney Mills.
Collins has never been listed as a suspect and Baton Rouge homicide detectives have not wavered from that stance even after questioning him Monday night.
Per the police, paternity tests revealed he was not the father of Mills’ son Brenton, who was born after her death, but died May 1.
Collins has maintained his innocence all along, telling police he wasn’t even in Baton Rouge during the time of the shooting.
After losing millions by not being drafted, Collins was looking to find a home as an undrafted free agent.
Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan had dinner with him at a Baton Rouge restaurant on Monday. A number of Miami Dolphins players, including Jarvis Landry, Kelvin Sheppard and Anthony Johnson, who played with him in college at LSU, lobbied him to join their team in a meeting Tuesday night in Baton Rouge.
Per reports, the New England Patriots were interested, among others.
The Cowboys, however, were the first team to get Collins on a road trip. He made a visit to Dallas on Wednesday night where he was greeted at the home of owner Jerry Jones with a full-court press from every level of the organization, per a source. In addition to Jones, coaches, players, including members of the offensive line and quarterback Tony Romo, were all on hand to woo Collins, per a source.
Collins had some leverage after losing millions in the draft and options across the league, prompting the Cowboys to give him a shorter deal so he could get to free agency faster.
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