News: BTB: La’el Collins has agreed to a two-year extension with the Dallas Cowboys

[NewsBot]

The Great Wall of Dallas 2.0 has the right side of it locked down through 2019 as La’el Collins has agreed to a contract extension.

La’el Collins had a very unique experience in the immediate time leading up to the draft and as an NFL player. His stock fell due to an unfortunate circumstance right before the draft, and then he missed most of his second season with injury, but now he is locked in with the Cowboys through 2019.

La'el Collins finally gets paid. He and Cowboys have agreed on a two-year, $15.4m extension thru 2019, source informed of the deal says.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 25, 2017​

Collins fell from being a player with a high first-round grade to being undrafted because he was tangentially related to a murder case. In the end, it turned out he had nothing to do with the situation. Unfortunately for him though, that whole process meant that he lost a lot of money that would have otherwise been his. Collins did his time and paid his dues, and now he’s finally getting paid.

Collins showed immense promise during his rookie season, and many especially remember his incredible chase-down block of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in Green Bay. He entered 2016 as the unquestioned starter at left guard, but thanks to an injury suffered during the third game against Chicago (coupled with the great play of Ron Leary), La’el never saw the field again in 2017.

Collins enters his third year with the Cowboys as the unquestioned starter, except on the right side of the offensive line at tackle. Many have petitioned for this move for a long time, but there is understandably some trepidation about Collins having to completely mirror the mechanics he knew playing left tackle in college.

Perhaps that trepidation has made its way into the level of expectation for his play in the immediate future, explaining the fact that this extension is only for two years. This additionally makes great sense for La’el as he can get paid premier right tackle money after the 2019 season. Nevertheless, the Cowboys have 80% of the best offensive line in football locked up through the next three seasons (pending the inevitable Zack Martin extension), and that’s a great thing for a team with a young quarterback and star running back.

Congrats La’el Collins!

Continue reading...