We have some clarity on Lael Collins.
After his dismissal from the Dallas Cowboys became official on Thursday, the Cincinnati Bengals acted quickly and scheduled his visit. Initial reports had scheduled the meeting for Thursday evening, but Collins didn’t get to town as quickly.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Collins will spend all day Friday with the Bengals.
New OT free agent Lael Collins flew to Cincinnati on Thursday night and will meet with Bengals bosses all day Friday. Haven’t fully agreed on anything yet, but it’s fair to assume their plan is to keep him from leaving town without signing a contract, and they have a few things working for them – their line coach, Frank Pollak, has been Collins’ position coach in his first three years in the NFL, and Collins has LSU connections with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase.
Bengals are experienced in this area. Exactly one year ago, they went to great lengths to convince Riley Reiff to sign with them during the famous steak dinner at Jeff Ruby’s The Precinct.
Raiff and Collins may be different people, but their connection to 28-year-old Collins is much stronger. As Breer mentions, he may reunite with his former coach Frank Pollack, share LSU camaraderie with Burrow, Chase, as well as Tyler Shelvin and Thaddeus Moss, and his agent represents Joe Mixon.
The timeline for the deal is unclear, but as of this post, all work is underway right now.