La'El Collins signs with Dallas

[dead_poet]

Examining why it's better for La'el Collins that he went undrafted

CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora argues that LSU OL La'EL Collin is better off having gone undrafted as opposed to getting taken on Day 3.

Collins, who will meet with Baton Rouge police Monday to discuss the murder of his ex-girlfriend (he's not a suspect), tumbled out of the draft as teams shied away from a prospect who didn't get an opportunity to exonerate himself in advance. "Collins is actually in excellent shape to dictate the start of his career and bear considerable fiscal rewards as well," La Canfora wrote. Collins lost out on millions in not going in the first round, as expected, but he can now choose his own team if he's indeed cleared in the case (in that scenario, all 32 teams would be interested). He will also be granted free agency after three years, one year sooner than had he been drafted. Collins won't get a bonus and will be locked into salaries of $435,000 in 2016, $525,000 in 2017 and $615,000 in 2017, but La Canfora breaks down how he can recoup that money in the long-term in the column below.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jas ... -undrafted

[dead_poet]

Because he can dictate where he goes (provided he's cleared of any wrongdoing), I don't know if the Vikings will be in play. They signed a truckload of offensive linemen on day 3 and have a lot of competition there. Collins will likely go where there's a clear shot to early playing time (despite the fact that he's incredibly raw), and likely to go to a place where he can play tackle, a position that traditionally pays more long-term than guard, which is where our current need is at. Even if the Vikings kick the tires on him, he'd be another body with Clemmings and the rest of the crew. If he's open to playing guard, the Vikings could have an immediate opening. I still think it's unlikely he ends up in Purple.

[DK Sweets]

I'm a big supporter of due process, but the fact that he drug his feet talking to police and he didn't make any statement saying "Dude, I'm completely innocent. Why the #### would I kill my baby?" makes me not trust him. At all.

[dead_poet]

I'm a big supporter of due process, but the fact that he drug his feet talking to police and he didn't make any statement saying "Dude, I'm completely innocent. Why the #### would I kill my baby?" makes me not trust him. At all.

He didn't drag his feet. He wanted to talk to the police as soon as possible. The police scheduled the questioning for today. He also said "dude, I'm completely innocent" to teams.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Collins is scheduled to talk to the investigators on Monday, but his camp isn’t waiting until then to try to clarify the situation for teams that might be interested in selecting him. Rapoport’s colleague Albert Breer reported that Collins’s attorney reached out to the security directors from all 32 teams to tell his client’s side of the story and Rapoport adds that teams hope to have reports from their security teams before the second round gets underway on Friday night.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... on-monday/

[DK Sweets]

I was under the impression that he had been asked to come in for questioning and he hadn't scheduled it as of last week. Anyways, that's what I heard on ESPN radio, but who knows what the truth is.

And I'm sure that when teams are asking him if he killed his baby momma, he says no. I just think that if I was in his shoes, I would be telling EVERYONE that this is a terrible situation, I had nothing to do with it, and I'm going to cooperate 100%. Anything short of that just seems suspect to me. I'll gladly admit that it's not completely fair to him because I don't know his personality, but I don't see why anybody wouldn't do that.

[dead_poet]

I was under the impression that he had been asked to come in for questioning and he hadn't scheduled it as of last week. Anyways, that's what I heard on ESPN radio, but who knows what the truth is.

Yeah, it was my understanding the police asked for today even though Collins had wished for an earlier questioning to try and get his named cleared before day 2 of the draft.

And I'm sure that when teams are asking him if he killed his baby momma, he says no. I just think that if I was in his shoes, I would be telling EVERYONE that this is a terrible situation, I had nothing to do with it, and I'm going to cooperate 100%. Anything short of that just seems suspect to me. I'll gladly admit that it's not completely fair to him because I don't know his personality, but I don't see why anybody wouldn't do that.

Again, under the advice of legal council it's not surprising that a public statement wasn't made. They rarely are, even in cases of innocence. I guess it satisfies me that he was calling all NFL teams to say this privately instead and the fact that the police A) put off speaking to him for a few days AND B) didn't/don't consider him a suspect. Of course that could all change but as of now I don't see him at fault for anything, except for knowing the woman.

“There are numerous other people who are going to be interviewed,” said Lt. Johnny Dunnam, a Baton Rouge police spokesman. “So he is one of many.”

The attorney said a private investigative company was hired to prove Collins was out of town and therefore couldn’t have shot Mills. The nature of the relationship between Mills and Collins hasn’t been made clear, except that the two knew each other.

[Pseudo Everything]

I was under the impression that he had been asked to come in for questioning and he hadn't scheduled it as of last week. Anyways, that's what I heard on ESPN radio, but who knows what the truth is.

Your are right about that. This is an excerpt from a Baton Rouge - New Orleans newspaper (as of last Friday):
Cpl. Don Coppola Jr., a police spokesman, said Thursday that detectives originally reached out to Collins’ family and his agent on Saturday in an effort to speak with him. It wasn’t until Thursday that Collins through a representative agreed to speak with them after the draft, police said, and detectives have yet to hear from Collins himself.
http://theadvocate.com/sports/lsu/12245 ... layer-lael

Kind of sounds like he was stiffing the BRPD. Not a good idea to brush off the police when they want to talk to you about a murder investigation. They don't care what your schedule is.

I'm sure that when teams are asking him if he killed his baby momma, he says no. I just think that if I was in his shoes, I would be telling EVERYONE that this is a terrible situation, I had nothing to do with it, and I'm going to cooperate 100%. Anything short of that just seems suspect to me. I'll gladly admit that it's not completely fair to him because I don't know his personality, but I don't see why anybody wouldn't do that.

Completely agree. His silence seemed really odd to me given the amount of money that was on the line. On Wednesday the day before the draft he was in Chicago and the media was asking him about the situation and he declined to say anything at all. That alone might have sealed his fate as far as not being drafted.

He may end up having nothing to do with this incident. Of course Rae Carruth had a air tight alibi and we all know how that turned out. Didn't surprise me at all that all 32 teams took him off their boards until this thing gets resolved (and that could be awhile).

I don't think Collins could have handled this any worse than the way he did.

Edit/Update: I can't believe that there are still journalists who are using the "he's not a suspect" line. Police almost never name suspects until they are ready to charge someone.

[dead_poet]

Your are right about that. This is an excerpt from a Baton Rouge - New Orleans newspaper (as of last Friday):
Cpl. Don Coppola Jr., a police spokesman, said Thursday that detectives originally reached out to Collins’ family and his agent on Saturday in an effort to speak with him. It wasn’t until Thursday that Collins through a representative agreed to speak with them after the draft, police said, and detectives have yet to hear from Collins himself.
http://theadvocate.com/sports/lsu/12245 ... layer-lael

Strange. I heard the opposite. Could be a mutual thing.

Kind of sounds like he was stiffing the BRPD. Not a good idea to brush off the police when they want to talk to you about a murder investigation. They don't care what your schedule is.

Though the fact that they seemed to be OK with the schedule, to me, is meaningful. They've already said they have a "handful" of people to interview. And have previously said they only want to talk to Collins to see if he can "assist with the information." With the eyes squarely on the NFL and people now thinking the worst about NFL players, it irks me that Collins seems, to some, as already guilty. If he wasn't a potential first-round NFL prospect and instead just another one of the "handful" police want to get information from would he be seen in such a negative light?

His silence seemed really odd to me given the amount of money that was on the line. On Wednesday the day before the draft he was in Chicago and the media was asking him about the situation and he declined to say anything at all. That alone might have sealed his fate as far as not being drafted.

Again, he communicated internally with all 32 NFL teams. Just because he didn't say anything publicly is meaningless. Blame his attorney if you want, not him, for that. He's likely following their advice.

I don't think Collins could have handled this any worse than the way he did.

That just shocks me. He's been cooperating with the police the entire time and even left the draft to be available to try and get this cleared up. Just because he didn't speak out publicly doesn't mean he's handling it poorly.

[Pseudo Everything]

Again, he communicated internally with all 32 NFL teams. Just because he didn't say anything publicly is meaningless. Blame his attorney if you want, not him, for that. He's likely following their advice.

Why would he be all lawyered-up on Wednesday of last week, just a few days after he knows the police want to talk to him? It takes some time to retain a good criminal defense attorney.

If he was told not to talk to the media in Chicago, I suspect that advice came from his agent. If that's the advice he received, I don't think it was necessarily good advice. I don't think its accurate to assume every good criminal defense attorney is going to advise him not to say anything to the media given the unique circumstances that existed and the enormous amount of money that was in play. If he had nothing to do with the incident, what risk would there be in telling the media just that? The fact that he declined any media questions didn't help him.

That just shocks me. He's been cooperating with the police the entire time and even left the draft to be available to try and get this cleared up. Just because he didn't speak out publicly doesn't mean he's handling it poorly.

The BRPD reached out to him six days before the draft. It took five days for Collins to get back to the BRPD and then it wasn't even him, it was one of his representatives. How does that qualify as being cooperative the entire time? Why do you think the BRPD let the media know that they wanted to talk to him? I bet they were POed that (after waiting five days) some mouthpiece told them the he would talk to them after the draft. If they thought he wasn't taking them seriously it seems they would have grounds to feel that way.

32 teams took Collins off their boards when he was a lock to go in the first round. The Saints are just down the road from Baton Rouge. You'd think they would have some pretty good contacts at LSU and Baton Rouge. They didn't take a guy in the 7th round with a first round grade. C'mon on. He handled it about as bad as he could.

[dead_poet]

Why would he be all lawyered-up on Wednesday of last week, just a few days after he knows the police want to talk to him? It takes some time to retain a good criminal defense attorney.

It doesn't take that long to get a good criminal defense attorney. Maybe his parents are connected. More-than-likely his agent has lawyers on speed-dial. It's not a bad idea if your former girlfriend was just murdered and the police want to question you to have an attorney. That's just common sense. Wouldn't you want one even if you were innocent? I would.

If he was told not to talk to the media in Chicago, I suspect that advice came from his agent. If that's the advice he received, I don't think it was necessarily good advice.

Based on what? To me that's standard legal counsel. A public statement would have changed nothing. NFL front offices want the police to exonerate him. Nothing he says privately to them or publicly will change that. If anything, public statements just give the story even more legs.

I don't think its accurate to assume every good criminal defense attorney is going to advise him not to say anything to the media given the unique circumstances that existed and the enormous amount of money that was in play. If he had nothing to do with the incident, what risk would there be in telling the media just that? The fact that he declined any media questions didn't help him.

It's just not big news to decline comment during an investigation. It's common practice whether you think it's a good idea or not. This is standard protocol. NFL teams, police, etc. just don't comment during ongoing investigations either.

The BRPD reached out to him six days before the draft. It took five days for Collins to get back to the BRPD and then it wasn't even him, it was one of his representatives. How does that qualify as being cooperative the entire time? Why do you think the BRPD let the media know that they wanted to talk to him? I bet they were POed that (after waiting five days) some mouthpiece told them the he would talk to them after the draft. If they thought he wasn't taking them seriously it seems they would have grounds to feel that way.

I highly doubt it took him five days to get back to them. Chances are they had much more communication during that time to try and figure out how/when to meet with the draft and everything. It should be noted, again, the BRPD agreed to that timetable and have expressed none of the annoyance you're suggesting. Like I said, they are apparently questioning a lot of people and this is a complex investigation with few leads. I'm guessing they had their hands full with other interviews and weren't just waiting for him to arrive before they could continue. Heck, he left the draft to go down there, presumably to answer questions. I don't know why he wasn't able to be questioned any sooner while he was there but maybe it just didn't fit in with the BRPD schedule. It does/did him no good to wait, unless his agent thought this wasn't going to come out until after he was drafted? Who knows. It was in his best interest to get exonerated quickly but it didn't happen.

32 teams took Collins off their boards when he was a lock to go in the first round. The Saints are just down the road from Baton Rouge. You'd think they would have some pretty good contacts at LSU and Baton Rouge.

He's not even a suspect. If they have great contacts, chances are the contacts just said, "We want to question the guy. He knew her." I don't think he had any criminal or character issues previous.

They didn't take a guy in the 7th round with a first round grade. C'mon on.

Is it really that surprising given the last nine months? Teams obviously want a resolution first. It's hard to blame them. That doesn't mean he's involved in any way.

He handled it about as bad as he could.

OK. We're obviously not going to see this eye-to-eye. The guy has cooperated fully. He met with the police at a timetable that worked fine with both parties, answered their questions and has not been named a suspect. Neither are any of the other dozen or so other people the police are speaking to (yet). Why is Collins so much more guilty than any of the others the police brought in to speak with for information who may have done the exact same thing? I don't get it.

[dead_poet]

La'El Collins - T - Player

LSU G/T La'El Collins met with Baton Rouge police for "more than an hour" on Monday.

Through a spokesman, the BRPD said it had "no new information to report," but confirmed Collins is not a suspect in the murder of his ex-girlfriend. "It went fine; we answered all their questions," Collins' attorney said. "The investigation is going to continue. La'el is now going to start making an effort to start getting his football career back on track." Teams won't compete to sign Collins until he's announced as 100 percent in the clear, but that could come some time this week.
Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune

[Mothman]

OK. We're obviously not going to see this eye-to-eye. The guy has cooperated fully. He met with the police at a timetable that worked fine with both parties, answered their questions and has not been named a suspect. Neither are any of the other dozen or so other people the police are speaking to (yet). Why is Collins so much more guilty than any of the others the police brought in to speak with for information who may have done the exact same thing? I don't get it.

Because he's a football player?

I don't know but you're not alone in being annoyed by the presumption of guilt. In this case, it's particularly ridiculous since the police have said he isn't a suspect.

You're absolutely right that it's SOP to retain legal counsel and avoid public statements in a situation like this.

[The Breeze]

Amy Schumer did a satire skit portraying football players as criminals (primarily sex offenders).....it was funny and disturbing.

Football has an image problem and the media exacerbates everything, positive or negative.

[dead_poet]

Yep.

@flasportsbuzz Bleacher Report's Jason Cole reports La'el Collins prefers to join team where he could play OT; that would maximize earnings in 2nd contract

[PurpleMustReign]

Are there any rumors of Viking interest?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk