A lot of New Orleans Saints fans have been pounding the table for La’el Collins — and a couple of factors aren’t going to slow down that demand any time soon. Between the Saints offensive line falling to pieces on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers and news that Collins has been cleared to play after rehabbing a complicated knee injury, that interest is only ramping up.
The former LSU Tiger had some good years with the Dallas Cowboys and the Cincinnati Bengals. It’s easy to see why so many fans are eager to bring the Baton Rouge local back to The Boot. But is there any real interest in Collins from the Saints as an organization? Should there be? How would he fit into the puzzle they’re trying to solve? Let’s take a look.
First off: there has not been any reported buzz linking Collins to the Saints. Let’s get that out of the way now. He also wasn’t on their radar when he last became a free agent, and they stayed away when he was coming out of LSU as an undrafted free agent way back when. Fans are doing a bit of wishcasting here.
Secondly: it’s tough to buy that a 30-year-old lineman with a history of back injuries could help this team while coming off a season-ending knee injury. It’s easy to shrug and say that the offensive line couldn’t be worse than it currently is, but that’s not taking the problem seriously enough to explore what starting Collins would involve.
And to that third point: Collins has exclusively lined up at right tackle since 2017, and he isn’t going to displace Ryan Ramczyk in that role. Before that he played left guard for two years in Dallas, and the Saints have a logjam there between James Hurst, their former starter Andrus Peat, and rookie draft pick Nick Saldiveri, who has been inactive through three weeks. Collins played left tackle in college but he hasn’t done it in nearly a decade. Odds are he’d struggle just as much there as Trevor Penning has, but without the promise of long-term development.
Collins returning to shore up the New Orleans offensive line would be a great story. But we’re approaching the realm of fantasy by hoping for it. He wouldn’t start with the Saints just like he didn’t start for the Bengals, who released him earlier in September after deciding his contract was too heavy for an injured veteran in a backup role. He wants to start but there isn’t a spot open for him in New Orleans. Expect that to lead him elsewhere while the Saints continue to work on solving their protection issues in-house.
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