Getty Former Dallas Cowboys O-Lineman La'el Collins reacting after an NFL game.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
At 4-6, the New York Jets’ playoff hopes are hanging on by a thread. One way they could improve those chances is by bolstering the offensive line’s star power and depth.
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report pushed for Gang Green to make a “hail mary move” by signing free agent offensive tackle La’el Collins to a contract.
All the Jets Problems Start and End in the Trenches
“You can lay a lot of blame for the offense’s woes at the feet of Zach Wilson. You can go ahead and dish out a heap of it for offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett too. But the primary issue for the offense is that it features one of the worst offensive lines in the league,” Ballentine explained.
Wilson through the first 10 games of the 2023 season has been the second most sacked quarterback in the league. He has been taken down on 38 occasions and the only quarterback that has more is Sam Howell of the Washington Commanders.
Some of those issues can be attributed to Wilson holding onto the ball too long but a lot of it can be connected to the volatility in the trenches. The only offensive lineman that has remained in the lineup all season is left guard Laken Tomlinson, every other starter has either been placed on IR or has missed time.
The Jets are set to roll out its eighth different offensive line combination of the season in Week 12, per Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic.
Collins Is a Worthy Dart Throw for the Jets in 2023
Collins, 30, is an offensive lineman with plenty of experience.
In his eight plus seasons in the NFL, the former LSU product has appeared in 89 games and has made 86 starts.
Most recently he was with the Cincinnati Bengals for the last year and a half. However, injuries have plagued his career and are a major reason the talented hog molly is still a free agent at this late stage of 2023.
Back in October, the Jets hosted Collins for a workout amid an array of injuries to its offensive line.
Nothing came out of the workout, but the mere fact that the Jets kicked the tires showed they have some level of interest.
Collins would in theory plug in at right tackle for the Jets if signed. Since entering the league back in 2015 the big man has registered snaps at left guard and right tackle. He started his career in the NFL on the interior, but the last couple of years he has exclusively been playing at right tackle.
There are very rarely good offensive linemen available on the open market at any stage of the year, let alone in the middle of a season. Collins is a proven commodity that has gotten it done at the highest level.
The Jets are desperate for help in the trenches and Collins could help fill a void for the rest of the 2023 season. If things go swimmingly during this trial run, there would be a chance for a longer-term partnership discussion to take place in the offseason.