49ers Urged to Sign Former Cowboys Blocker Amid Injuries

Getty John Lynch could add another offensive lineman.

The San Francisco 49ers face urgent offensive line needs amid injury, and an experienced starter in La’el Collins remains available.

Bleacher Report suggests the signing for the 49ers as tackles Trent Williams (groin)  and Jaylon Moore (concussion) plus guard Aaron Banks (toe) remain banged up. Moore and Banks didn’t practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but Williams had limited participation on Wednesday and practiced on Thursday.

“Collins has experience playing guard and tackle, and it would be smart to have a proven veteran on hand as an insurance policy for the playoffs,” Bleacher Report staff wrote.

A regular starter for the Dallas Cowboys over four seasons, Collins has 86 career starts and another three in the postseason. Collins played for the Cowboys from 2015 to 2021 before he joined the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022.

He started 15 games for the Bengals last year, but Collins went down with an ACL and MCL tear late in the season. His comeback attempt this year fell short as the Bengals released him in September after his time on the reserve/PUP list.

Cincinnati saved $7.4 million in salary cap space by making that move. The New England Patriots notably had interest in Collins according to MassLive’s Mark Daniels in September — the team that Collins sustained his injury against.

La’el Collins Expressed Confidence in Return

Collins fully expected to get back on the field this year, which he expressed to Sports Illustrated’s All Bengals writer James Rapien before the season.

“Every day, I’m able to do some different, I can tell that my knee’s locked in there it’s stable,” Collins told Rapien. “It’s not going anywhere.”

“I mean, every day I come in. I do a little more. I feel a little better. I get a little stronger. So we’ve just been stacking good days on top of good days,” Collins added.

Michael Schofield Also an Option for 49ers

The Niners certainly have other free agent options to consider besides Collins.

Bleacher Report previously suggested Michael Schofield III as an option. He also has 86 starts in his career. Schofield notably played for the 2015 Denver Broncos team that won the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium, and he last played for the Chicago Bears in 2022.

“Schofield has experience playing every spot on the line except for center, so he could potentially fill in for Banks or would at least be a good depth piece for San Francisco,” Bleacher Report staff wrote.

49ers Offensive Line Issues Could Lead to a Tight End Moving Over

If the 49ers don’t have enough depth at offensive line on game day, tight end Charlie Woerner would move over to the line.

“We’d have to kind of makeshift that,” 49ers run game coordinator and offensive line coach Chris Foerster told reporters on Thursday.

“And it’s kind of funny, I was telling Trent this this morning because they’ve only recently gone to eight offensive linemen,” Foerster added. “When I got in the NFL there was, we always had eight up, but then special teams and everything else took over.”

“So then we went to seven, everything became seven all of a sudden. So you had seven and very few times, probably three times in the course of 25, 30 years did you have to get to the some other position playing offensive line,” Foerster continued.

San Francisco may have to go that route if the offensive line health and depth doesn’t improve soon.