Getty Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
The Dallas Cowboys are preparing to move another one of their offensive stars, and details of the trade negotiations are starting to be reported.
After the trade of wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns and the releases of tight end Blake Jarwin and kicker Greg Zuerlein, the Cowboys are also looking to trade tackle La’el Collins, who was given permission by the team to seek a trade, according to a March 12 tweet from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Collins has been a key component of the Dallas offensive line since his arrival in 2015, but it appears things have gone south between the team and the player. A “soured” relationship plus the 28-year-old’s contract getting expensive has made for a likely departure. Collins is set to make $10 million in 2022, and he represents a $15.25 million cap hit.
Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline is now reporting what the Cowboys are looking to get for the former LSU Tiger: anything they can get.
“I’m told at this point the Cowboys would accept anything in return for Collins, even a late-round pick,” Pauline wrote on March 12. “If they can’t trade Collins, the expectations are Dallas will likely release the offensive tackle. It might be difficult to trade him as he carries a $10 million price tag.”
Pauline also reported that two teams are interested in trading for Collins: the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
ALL the latest Dallas Cowboys news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Cowboys newsletter here!
Buccaneers, Dolphins Want Collins
According to Pauline, the Dolphins are interested in Collins as they look to build around quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on the offensive line. However, the Dolphins are reportedly willing to wait and see if the Cowboys cut him.
“The Miami Dolphins are also looking into the possibility of acquiring Collins via a trade,” Pauline wrote. “Additionally, they could target Collins if he is eventually cut by Dallas. Miami has holes all over its offensive line and is expected to be active in the OL market when free agency opens next week.”
Pauline wrote that, similarly, the Buccaneers want Collins but need to create space in their salary cap to trade for him given his contract. Apparently, Tampa Bay wouldn’t mind shifting Collins to guard to replace retired star lineman Ali Marpet and keep Donovan Smith and Tristan Wirfs as the starting tackles.
Essentially, both teams would prefer to sign Collins as a free agent rather than trade for him. It could work out for Dallas if either team wants him bad enough to trade for him before he’s released, which is how the team could acquire a late-round pick for Collins.
Cowboys ‘Sour’ on Collins
While Collins has been a mainstay for Dallas, it appears as if the team’s patience with the tackle has run out. After initial reports that Collins was on the trade block for the Cowboys, Sports Illustrated’s Mike Fisher tweeted that the franchise wasn’t impressed with the lineman’s passion or focus.
“The $ sacrifice here makes little sense,” Fisher tweeted on March 12. “But Cowboys have soured on La’el Collins – long wishing he’d ‘take the job more seriously,’ I’m told.”
The “sacrifice” refers to the Cowboys not saving the most money possible by trading Collins now. If the team waited until after June 1 to release Collins, they’d get back $10 million in cap space instead of just $1.3 million.
However, that would mean enduring 2 1/2 months of being bound to Collins’ contract and further burning the bridge between the two because it would delay Collins’ ability to go elsewhere.