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Former Dallas Cowboy Promises Intense Protection For Joe Burrow In 2022

Published 03/24/2022, 7:30 AM EDT

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La’el Collins has always been an entertainer in the world of the NFL. His charm not only pleases his fans off the field but also sheds magic on his opponents. Recently, Collins was brought by the Cincinnati Bengals in a lucrative deal from the Dallas Cowboys.

With his entry, the protection unit of the Bengals is back to its royalty and might. On Sunday, the Bengals were able to sign the offensive lineman after a long round of discussions. What’s more interesting is the way he responded to his quarterback. Collins calls himself a bodyguard to his new QB Joe Burrow for the upcoming 2022 season.

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La’el Collins – a promising tackle

Collins was serving under the Dallas Cowboys for almost 7 years now. He began his NFL journey with the club in 2015 and lasted till the current 2022 season. He was released by the Cowboys on March 17, amid his ongoing contract of 5 years with the team.

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Collin’s release was designated as a post-June-1 move that saved the team $10 million in salary-cap space. Initially, the New England Patriots were trying to make a deal, but the Bengals were successful in signing him for 3 years, a $30 million deal.

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first person to break the news. According to him, the deal, in reality, assured him $22 million for two years. And the third-year clause was a clever move to spread the Bengals cap space. As soon as the contract was finalized, Collins revealed that he got a message from his new QB asking, ‘Deal done? (with lots of question marks).’

He responded subtly, “I was like, ‘Yeah, your new bodyguard is in town!’” The offensive lineman explained the incident through a video statement released by the Bengals post the deal.

Collins & his tryst with injuries

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Collins is all set to become the focal point of the offensive unit for the Bengals. However, his past has always been a matter of worry among the recruiters. The 28-year-old often struggled with several injuries in the previous years. Moreover, he got suspended for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy in the past.

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As a result, he missed 21 out of 33 games in the past two seasons and could not play a single game in the 2020 season, citing a hip injury. Collins was given a contract extension for 5 years in 2019 with a salary of $50 million. But his absence on the field created a burden for the team to accommodate him.

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This abrupt release will help the lineman re-establish himself in the NFL world. It’s yet to see what he brings on the field donning the new uniform for Bengals in the upcoming season.

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Written by:

Deepesh Nair

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Deepesh Nair is an NFL author at EssentiallySports. Having started his career in journalism as a trending news writer, he has published around 500 articles for various media portals. Although Deepesh comes from a Computer Science background, his fondness for writing has persuaded him to create his career in it.
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Edited by:

Deepika Bhaduri