La'el Collins prepared to do whatever Bills ask in hopeful return to play: 'I came here to dominate'

La'el Collins‘ road to an NFL comeback runs through Buffalo.

The 30-year-old has started 86 games in his career, but has not made a start since injuring his ACL and MCL in December 2022 while playing for the Bengals.

After a year of mental and physical recuperation and signing a contract with the Bills, Collins feels he’s finally prepared to return to significant play in the trenches.

“They brought me here to play football and I came here to dominate and I’m going to let everything else take care of itself,” Collins said, via WGRZ’s Jonathan Acosta. “I’m going to show up every day and go to work. Help the young guys, and do whatever they ask me.”

Collins, who was once regarded as a significant free-agent signing like when he signed a three-year contract with the Bengals in 2022 after a seven-season stint with the Cowboys, is not far removed from such consideration.

He initially struggled with a persistent back injury in Cincinnati, which caused his performance to decline. This was followed by a knee injury that ultimately concluded his tenure with the Bengals. He was let go in September last season. Subsequently, Dallas recruited him to their practice squad for a few weeks in January.

“Imagining yourself in such a difficult situation is hard,” Collins stated. “Dealing with a traumatic injury like a torn knee is indescribable. I thought that last year, I might have been able to put myself in a position to play some football. However, I recognized that mentally, I was drained.”

Now operating closer to full, Collins is excited for his prospects with the Bills, who finished seventh in the league in rushing last season and fifth in rushing touchdowns. Between James Cook looking to build off his second-year breakout and quarterback Josh Allen always being liable to rumble out of the pocket for extra yards — either on a whim or by design — Collins should feel at home on a team ready to pound the rock.

Collins excelled in that type of blocking in the years preceding his injury, averaging an 89.5 PFF run-blocking grade over his last two seasons with the Cowboys.

Now serving as a depth offensive lineman, he hopes his versatility will be another specialty that makes him invaluable to the Bills.

If he carves out a spot on the roster, it’ll likely be at right tackle behind Spencer Brown, but he could swing to the other side if need be, and he also spent his first couple years in the league playing guard.

“Being able to play anywhere is a benefit to me and I love it,” said Collins, referring to his ability to contribute in various spots.

If he maintains the ability to play at multiple positions, the Bills will also benefit.

Collins’ form will face its first real challenge from July 23, when Bengals veterans begin training camp for practice and subsequent preseason games. With more than 550 days since his last NFL start, the coming months are crucial for Collins to demonstrate his abilities to his new team and, more importantly, to himself.

“Those were tough days,” Collins described his recovery period. “Days filled with 70,000 doubts running wild in your mind, questioning your worthiness. Questioning whether you would ever come back.”