If things check out medically, it doesn’t sound like former Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle La’el Collins will need long to find a new team.
According to Jordan Schultz, “nearly a dozen teams” have shown interest in Collins since his release from the Bengals. He added a quote from a league executive: “It’s rare for a starting tackle to become available during the season. It’s just not something that happens. …Let’s see the medicals, but he was very good when healthy.”
The surprising release earlier this week didn’t come with an explanation other than a brief comment from head coach Zac Taylor.
Collins had been on the PUP while recovering from his December ACL tear after starting at right tackle last year. While he rehabbed, the team added Orlando Brown Jr. to play left tackle and shifted Jonah Williams to right tackle.
As of this writing, we don’t know if Collins requested his release in order to go find a starting gig elsewhere, if there was some medical setback or even if he might re-up with the Bengals on a cheaper deal as depth.
Either way, it sounds like fans weren’t the only ones interested after the Bengals let Collins go.
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