The New England Patriots made a puzzling move to trade Shaq Mason to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a fifth-round pick.
Mason was arguably the Patriots’ best offensive player and he departed shortly after Ted Karras left in free agency to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals. Trent Brown is currently testing the free agent market and the Patriots’ depth on the offensive line is quickly thinning.
Patrick Walker of CBS Sports reported Wednesday morning that Dallas Cowboys tackle La’el is drawing interest from multiple teams, including the Patriots. The Patriots are reportedly frontrunners to trade for the 28-year-old tackle. Here’s a piece from Collins’ column.
Collins is currently the topic of possible trade talk within the confines of Cowboys headquarters in Frisco, Texas, but there’s also a possibility he gets outright released — despite the team’s need for depth on the offensive line. There are several teams interested in potentially trading for Collins, but nothing is imminent as of yet, although sources tell CBS Sports a frontrunner may have emerged in Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.
Internally, sources say, the Patriots have kicked around several ideas for compensation that include a possible swap of picks in the 2022 NFL Draft or simply giving the Cowboys a pick on Day 2, but the discussions are preliminary and haven’t yet been presented or formalized. Collins’ flexibility is also intriguing to the Patriots, considering he was converted from guard to tackle by the Cowboys and, as such, has an ability to kick inside if/when needed — as evidenced in 2021 following the emergence of Terence Steele at tackle.
La'el Collins is drawing trade interest from some NFL teams but, with nothing imminent, the Patriots are emerging as a strong candidate — mulling compensation packages at the moment, I'm told.
The #Cowboys are listening to all offers.
DETAILS ⬇️ https://t.co/XudFO4Oszo
— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) March 16, 2022
Patriots Wire’s Henry McKenna floated the idea for a potential fix at offensive line, with Collins included.
Crazy idea to fix the offensive line:
1) Trade for La'el Collins. Move him to LT.
2) Sign Marcus Cannon (or Trent Brown if the $$ is right). Put him at RT.
3) Move Isaiah Wynn to LG.LT: Collins
LG: Wynn
C: David Andrews
RG: Michael Onwenu
RT: CannonBad idea? Brilliant idea? pic.twitter.com/kT1jjP92ZO
— Henry Coffey McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) March 16, 2022
The Patriots are a couple potential moves away from solidifying the line, following the loss of two crucial players.
