The Dallas Cowboys are bringing back offensive tackle La’el Collins in a new roster move, reuniting with the eight-year NFL veteran. Collins spent the 2022 season with the Cincinnati Bengals but has been a free agent since mid-September of 2023.

Heads were first turned when NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport first reported that the player and team were meeting on January 2. About six hours later, he followed up with the report that Collins is signing to the Cowboys’ practice squad.

“La’El Collins is signing to the #Cowboys practice squad, per me and @TomPelissero. Back where it all started,” Rapoport wrote on X.

Collins started the 2023 season on the Bengals’ PUP list but was then released on September 12. He has not visited or signed with any teams since then, but his visit clearly went well in Dallas.

At one point, Collins was one of the highest-paid players on the Cowboys roster. However, declining performances, a suspension, and the rise of current starting tackle Terence Steele led to him being benched and then eventually released.

Obviously, the Cowboys don’t expect Collins to play a critical role as a practice squad signing. But he is important insurance in case Dallas experiences bad injury luck.

Coming out of LSU, Collins was considered a first-round talent. However, he was questioned by police during a murder investigation and his draft stock dwindled. His agents then threatened that he would sit out the 2015 season if teams attempted to draft him in the fourth round or onward.

After not being selected, he signed a fully guaranteed UDFA deal with the Cowboys. Due to injury, Collins was quickly thrust into a starting job. He started 11 games as a left guard and quickly proved that he was ready to make the jump.

Injury severely hampered his second season in 2016, but was then shifted and named the starting right tackle in 2017. Over the next three seasons, he started 47 of 48 possible games at right tackle.

After solidifying himself as one of the NFL’s better tackles, the Cowboys handed him a five-year, $50 million contract that they would end up regretting.

Due to a serious car accident, Collins missed the entirety of the 2020 NFL season. Then, he was suspended for failing an NFL drug test after Week 1 in 2021. Collins appealed the suspension in court but lost and had his suspension increased to five games.

In his last season in Dallas, he started 10 games and played on both sides of the line. But by the end of the year, he was benched in favor of Steele and then was put on the trade block the following offseason. With little interest in a deal, the Cowboys had to release him from his $50 million deal.

Even in 2023, the Cowboys are still paying for that contract. Collins’ dead-cap hits from that deal cost Dallas $4.93 million in 2022 and $8.17 million in 2023. Considering that Collins is signing a practice squad deal, he’ll be receiving a veteran minimum salary, which means he’ll be due $1.165 million for his services.

Evan Reier is a sports journalist covering the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers for Heavy.com. He previously covered sports for the Montana Standard and was a managing editor for Outsider. More about Evan Reier