La'el Collins to Cowboys: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction

With a potential legal situation seemingly behind him, La'el Collins signed with the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday after going undrafted.

Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram first had the report, which the team later confirmed:

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com provided some perspective on the team's decision to sign Collins, while NFL Network's Albert Breer weighed in on how the team will use him:

Adam Schefter of ESPN and ProFootballTalk shared the details of the deal:

Collins received a $21K signing bonus from the Cowboys, per Nick Underhill of The New Orleans Advocate.

Many scouts and evaluators considered Collins a first-round talent, but an investigation into the murder of his pregnant former girlfriend, whose child also died shortly after being born, left NFL teams wary of selecting him pending the findings. While Collins was never named as a suspect, authorities wanted to speak with him, and teams were leery of drafting him until more was known about the case.

Mike Fisher of Fox Sports pointed out the following:

Jason Cole of Bleacher Report reported that 26 teams inquired on Collins. Fox Sports' Alex Marvez added more insight on the level of interest Collins generated throughout the process:

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Roughly a half-dozen teams told the Collins' camp during the draft that they were planning to choose him in the later rounds, the source said. None followed through because of the belief Collins wouldn't sign a rookie deal so he could instead re-enter the 2016 NFL draft.

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While the former LSU offensive tackle was able to pick the team and the situation he felt best suited him in the end, the past month or so was surely a nightmare on numerous fronts, and it was an unprecedented situation for the league.

Breer pointed out that Collins is the third first-round-caliber talent the Cowboys have landed in the last week, along with cornerback Byron Jones and pass-rusher Randy Gregory, which makes the former LSU offensive lineman an incredible value for Dallas:

Collins will now turn to his NFL career, where he'll initially add depth to a very talented Dallas offensive line. He'll look to sign a big contract when he becomes a restricted free agent after fulfilling the mandatory three-year length of his undrafted-player deal.

For Collins, playing football once again will likely be a welcome reprieve.