As of right now, the Patriots have three holes on their offensive line. Might they fill one of them with a trade?
New England on Tuesday reportedly sent starting right guard Shaq Mason to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a fifth-round pick. The move arrived roughly a day after Ted Karras, the Patriots' primary left guard in 2021, signed a three-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. And, with Trent Brown set to hit free agency, we suddenly have no idea of who will be New England's 2022 starters at left guard, right guard and right tackle.
Mike Onwenu, who has experience at all three positions, figures to earn one of the spots. But who else?
That brings us to Dallas Cowboys tackle La'el Collins, a trade for whom the Patriots have considered this offseason, according to Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald. However, it sounds like New England isn't crazy about Dallas' asking price.
Check out this tweet Callahan sent shortly after news of the Mason trade broke:
Collins has three years and $30 million remaining on his current contract, with salary cap hits of $15.25 million in both 2022 and 2023 and $13.45 million in 2024. He'll turn 29 years old in July.
Collins joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2015 and spent his rookie season as Dallas' primary starting left guard. After playing in just three games in 2016, Collins was the Cowboys' starting right tackle for the last four seasons. He did see time at left tackle in one game last season.
The LSU product has played his best football the last two seasons, finishing 2020 as Pro Football Focus' fifth-ranked tackle and 2021 as the 15th-ranked tackle. Collins consistently has graded out as a better run blocker than pass protector.
