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Cliff wrote: Hmm ... could he sit out a season and reenter the draft? Or be treated like a FA next year instead of a rookie? Or does rookie just mean your first year in the league?

I don't know much about the guy, did he graduate or could he go back to school? Is that even possible after you enter the draft?

I wonder if he could enter the supplemental draft. He's already entered into the draft so maybe not but I don't know if exceptions can be made.

Funny you should ask...

@JayGlazer Scoopage: Agent for LSU's La'el Collins trying to pull him from this draft allowing him time to clear his name then enter Supplemental Draft

dead_poet wrote:Funny you should ask...

He might be better off just going undrafted. I think he could then sign with any team for whatever they would pay him. Usually those guys don't get big money because they're lesser prospects, but a legit 1st round talent could cash in pretty good if there's a bidding war. I'm not sure, but I believe he wouldn't be subject to the rookie wage scale as an Undrafted Rookie Free Agent.

@SeifertESPN Per Fox Sports, LSU OL La'el Collins wants to enter supplemental draft. CBA limits supplmtl to players who were ineligible for regular draft

@SeifertESPN Re: Collins, NFL CBA: "No player may elect to bypass a Draft for which he is eligible to apply for selection in a Supplemental Draft."

I think he's screwed. Not sure if there can be a "bidding war" for him, either. But should be able to pick where he plays. Somebody's probably going to get a steal once this is all concluded and he's cleared.

Also, he can't go back to school and enter next year's draft since he already has an agent.

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Ouch. Red flag.

In light of the La'El Collins situation: Here is a picture from outside the LSU weight room a few years ago

http://imgur.com/92taq2h

dead_poet wrote:I think he's screwed. Not sure if there can be a "bidding war" for him, either. But should be able to pick where he plays. Somebody's probably going to get a steal once this is all concluded and he's cleared.

As a football player I think La'el (weird first name) Collins is every bit as good as Brandon Scherff. Wouldn't be surprised if multiple teams had Collins rated higher just because he plays with more of a nasty disposition. Off the field, Scherff is pretty much a choir boy and one of those high character guys you do not have to worry about. Collins ... well ... who knows.

The one thing that doesn't seem to add up for me is Collins' relative silence about his situation. Why isn't he holding a press conference and telling anyone who wants to listen that he's completely innocent and had no role whatsoever with the murder of his former girlfriend. With millions of dollars at stake you'd think he would be proclaiming his innocence in the most forceful and loudest terms possible. Yesterday the media in Chicago asked him about this and he declined to say anything. That seems kind of fishy to me. If you're innocent why wouldn't you take questions about it? Maybe his attorney told him to stay silent but that seems like exactly the wrong strategy.

I hope it turns out that Collins had nothing to do with the murder. It's just about the last thing the NFL needs after Ray Rice, Aaron Hernandez, et al. If Collins is innocent then what's happening to him now is a travesty.

Pseudo Everything wrote:As a football player I think La'el (weird first name) Collins is every bit as good as Brandon Scherff. Wouldn't be surprised if multiple teams had Collins rated higher just because he plays with more of a nasty disposition.

Have you watched Scherff? He's a nasty beast, too.

The one thing that doesn't seem to add up for me is Collins' relative silence about his situation. Why isn't he holding a press conference and telling anyone who wants to listen that he's completely innocent and had no role whatsoever with the murder of his former girlfriend. With millions of dollars at stake you'd think he would be proclaiming his innocence in the most forceful and loudest terms possible. Yesterday the media in Chicago asked him about this and he declined to say anything. That seems kind of fishy to me. If you're innocent why wouldn't you take questions about it? Maybe his attorney told him to stay silent but that seems like exactly the wrong strategy.

It's not unusual. Most lawyers advise their clients to not say anything during an ongoing investigation. The fact that it's coming out that he's not going to be questioned now and he's not a suspect is good news for him though. He apparently has a pretty strong alibi. Unfortunately I don't think holding a press conference declaring his innocence is going to matter any to a team. They'll likely want the police to confirm he's not being charged and in the clear.

dead_poet wrote:I think he's screwed. Not sure if there can be a "bidding war" for him, either. But should be able to pick where he plays. Somebody's probably going to get a steal once this is all concluded and he's cleared.

I apologize for not clarifying. I meant when/if he goes undrafted and he's cleared by the police, there could be quite a few bids for him. With him being a first round talent on the open market as a rookie free agent, he would be fair game for any team to put in an offer. Again I'm not sure, but I don't believe there are restrictions on what an undrafted rookie free agent can sign for.

Granted this predicated on him being cleared, and even then I believe it's going to be quite a while before this settles.

‏@CharlesRobinson A league source said he doesn't believe the #NFL will allow La'El Collins to enter the supplemental draft. "He's eligible for this draft."

@CharlesRobinson More: To allow La'El Collins into supplemental would open door to other eligible draftees wanting into supplemental draft due 2 circumstance

You can't tell me that if he is not picked by the 7th round, that some team that doesn't really know what else they want would not take a chance on him. If it turned out he is guilty of something, they can say. Hey, all the reports from the Police and information being shared to the public indicated he was not even a suspect. He would be let go from the team, and probably wouldn't hear much about it. If the likely scenerio turns out that he is innocent of murder, and is being questioned for any information that might lead in right direction, OR because he is possibly the baby daddy, then he stays on the team and you get a 1st round talent for the price of a 6th/7th round pick. I don't see all 32 teams passing on him.

dead_poet wrote:It's not unusual. Most lawyers advise their clients to not say anything during an ongoing investigation. The fact that it's coming out that he's not going to be questioned now and he's not a suspect is good news for him though. He apparently has a pretty strong alibi. Unfortunately I don't think holding a press conference declaring his innocence is going to matter any to a team. They'll likely want the police to confirm he's not being charged and in the clear.

The police (no matter the jurisdiction) almost never say someone is a suspect. You either get charged or you don't. In Collins' case the Baton Rouge police have said they want to talk to him. It's been reported (without any quotes) that the BRPD have said that Collins is not a suspect but I would be very surprised if the BRPD has offically said this (if they have why aren't there any quotes from the BRPD?). It goes against standard police protocol. The BRPD are early in their investigation.

Collins may have an airtight alibi but for the time being that would only prove that he didn't pull the trigger. It doesn't prove that he was not involved. This could turn out to be a contract hit (emphasis on could) akin to the Rae Carruth incident. You can't rule it in; but you also can't rule it out at this point either.

I agree that most attorneys are going to tell their clients not to speak to the media when the police want to question them about a murder; they would be negligent if they didn't. This is a different situation. If Collins is telling his attorney that he's completely innocent and had no involvement in the crime, then it seems it would be in his best interests to make himself available to the media given the millions of dollars at stake. If it should turn out that he wasn't being honest with his attorney then that's on him.

KSViking wrote:You can't tell me that if he is not picked by the 7th round, that some team that doesn't really know what else they want would not take a chance on him. If it turned out he is guilty of something, they can say. Hey, all the reports from the Police and information being shared to the public indicated he was not even a suspect. He would be let go from the team, and probably wouldn't hear much about it. If the likely scenerio turns out that he is innocent of murder, and is being questioned for any information that might lead in right direction, OR because he is possibly the baby daddy, then he stays on the team and you get a 1st round talent for the price of a 6th/7th round pick. I don't see all 32 teams passing on him.

I don't either, for the reasons you suggest. Somebody will draft him, it's probably just a question of when.

dead_poet wrote:Ouch. Red flag.
http://imgur.com/92taq2h

Hah that's awesome, wish more coaches would do that.