The Cincinnati Bengals made shocking news on Tuesday after the team made an interesting roster move. Reports indicated that the team parted ways with tackle La’El Collins, who was on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. Despite that, the team released him, so now the former LSU standout is a free agent.
ESPN’s Field Yates, among others, reported the news on Tuesday afternoon on X.
The Bengals have released OT La’El Collins from PUP. He’s now a free agent.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 12, 2023
Collins’ release comes after just one season with the team. He spent his first seven years in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys, who signed him as an undrafted free agent. Collins initially had a lot of pre-Draft hype, but a troubling incident emerged before that. He spoke to police about the shooting death of a pregnant woman, and while he was never considered a suspect, teams stayed away from him for all seven rounds.
After signing on with Dallas, Collins built himself up and had a pretty solid career. He helped pave the way for Zeke Elliott, the former Cowboys star running back, to win the NFL rushing title twice in his career. He then played on the Bengals team that made their second consecutive AFC Championship Game last January. He was thought to be a strong depth piece if nothing else, so this move comes as a bit of a surprise.
The Bengals started off 0-1 after a dismal performance against rival Cleveland.
The NFL world had plenty to say about the Bengals news that emerged Tuesday.
La'el Collins had a rough start last season, but he was playing at a high level at right tackle during the second half of the season before he got hurt.
The Bengals' offensive line depth cost them in each of the last two seasons. Now, they lose some of that depth in Collins. https://t.co/hkG0eM4nvB
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) September 12, 2023
The Giants should be on the phone with La'El Collins right now https://t.co/yYoGjDUAhv
— Marshall Green (@MarshallGreen_) September 12, 2023
If healthy, La’El Collins makes a lot of sense for the #Jets if Duane Brown continues to struggle.
Could move Mekhi Becton back to LT.
— Nick Faria (@Nick_Faria1720) September 12, 2023
The #Bengals have released OT La'el Collins.
Never forget when he said this: pic.twitter.com/OCXj1oEQ2i
— NFL Notifications (@NFLNotify) September 12, 2023
Just don’t really understand the logic of releasing La’el Collins at this point if you’re the Bengals.
The timing feels completely bizarre.
— Willie Lutz (@willie_lutz) September 12, 2023
Bengals release La'el Collins.
They were set to carry their lowest amount of available cap space into a season, but how this frees some up. https://t.co/0f3Owls6Bn
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) September 12, 2023
