Patriots out on La’el Collins despite release from Cowboys

Report: Why Patriots aren’t expected to sign Cowboys OL after release originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots reportedly considered trading for offensive tackle La’el Collins earlier this week. Now, they have the chance to add him without giving up any assets: The Dallas Cowboys plan to release Collins on Thursday, ESPN’s Todd Archer reports.

Sounds like the Patriots should pounce, right? Not quite. New England is all but out on Collins, the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan reports.

The Patriots are dangerously thin on the offensive line after trading Shaq Mason to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and watching Ted Karras sign with the Cincinnati Bengals. They’ll be in even more dire straits if Trent Brown signs elsewhere in free agency.

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So, why wouldn’t New England try to add Collins, who started 57 games at right tackle for Dallas over the last four seasons? According to Callahan, it’s a “money issue.”

Collins was set to carry a $15.25 million cap hit for the 2022 season prior to his release. For context, only one Patriots lineman is making more than $10 million this season (Isaiah Wynn with a $10.4 million cap hit), and center David Andrews ($6.4 million) is the only other lineman making more than $1 million. 

Even the high-profile Brown carried a $7.6 million cap hit in 2021, or half of Collins’ projected 2022 number.

The Patriots have just over $11 million in cap space right now, according to salary cap expert Miguel Benzan on Twitter. They certainly could free up the money to add Collins, but with so many other needs on the roster — wide receiver, cornerback and linebacker, to name a few — perhaps they don’t want to devote too many resources to one player, especially on the offensive line.

Still, the Patriots need to spend their money somewhere, and the longer they go without making an impact signing, the more fans will grow frustrated by the team’s lack of activity.