Advertisement

Undrafted La'el Collins still not a suspect in shooting after police meeting

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer

After meeting with Baton Rouge police on Monday, La'el Collins is still not considered a suspect in the shooting of Brittney Mills, his former girlfriend.

It's also after the NFL draft has come and gone, but teams are still interested to see how the case plays out. Collins, a former LSU offensive tackle, met with homicide detectives for more than an hour on Monday, the New Orleans Times-Picayune said. BRPD spokesman Cpl. Don Coppola told the Times-Picayune that Collins is still not considered a suspect.

Mills was pregnant when she was shot and killed on April 24. Authorities wanted to question Collins. He left the draft in Chicago to go back to Louisiana. And as all of this was unfolding, Collins went from a near first-round lock to entirely undrafted.

Collins' attorney Jim Boren said Collins answered every question. Boren was asked if he thought Collins would be cleared of the charges, according to the Times-Picayune.

"Only the police can answer that question," Boren said, according to the paper. "In my mind he's been cleared from the very beginning."

Teams didn't want to take that risk in the draft. Collins can sign as an undrafted free agent with any team, but the rules limit what he can make.

OverTheCap.com pointed out that rules state Collins is locked into signing a three-year deal as an undrafted free agent, for the minimum salaries of $435,000 in 2015, $525,000 in 2016, and $615,000 in 2017. Teams get less than $100,000 total to spend on signing bonuses for all undrafted free agents each season, OverTheCap.com said. Collins would be a restricted free agent at the end of that contract. He can't reapply for the 2016 draft after not being taken in 2015. His options, even if teams start bidding on his services, are extremely limited and not good for a player who might have gone in the top 15 if the draft was about a week earlier.

This is a virtually unprecedented situation. NFL teams are certainly keeping a close watch on what happens. And if Collins is totally cleared, he'll have more than his share of teams looking to get a first-round talent at an unheard of discount.

- - - - - - -

Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!