The 49ers were tipped to sign the former Cowboys blocker due to injuries John Lynch could add another offensive player.
The San Francisco 49ers need pressure on the offensive line due to injury, and veteran starter La’el Collins is still available.
Bleacher Report suggests a trade for the 49ers as Trent Williams (groin) and Jaylon Moore (concussion) and guard Aaron Banks (toe) are still top options. Moore and Banks did not practice Wednesday and Thursday, but Williams was limited Wednesday and practiced Thursday.
“Collins has experience at guard and tackle, and it would make sense to get a proven veteran as a playoff anchor,” the Bleacher Report staff wrote.
A regular starter for the Dallas Cowboys for four seasons, Collins has 86 career starts and three more in the postseason. Collins played for the Cowboys from 2015 to 2021 before joining the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022.
He started 15 games for the Bengals last year, but Collins suffered season-ending ACL and MCL tears. His comeback attempt this year fell through when the Bengals released him in September after being placed on the reserve/cubs list.
Cincinnati saved $7.4 million in salary cap space with the move. According to MassLive’s Mark Daniels, the New England Patriots, the team against which Collins was injured, were particularly interested in Collins.
La’el Collins expressed his faith Collins fully expected to return to the field this year, which he told Sports Illustrated writer James Rapien before the season.
“Every day I can do something different, I can tell my knee is locked in there, it’s stable,” Collins told Rapien. “It’s not going anywhere.”
“I mean, every day I go in. I do a little more. I feel a little better. I’m getting a little stronger.
So we just piled good days on top of good days,” Collins added. Michael Schofield is also a 49ers pick The Niners certainly have other free agent options besides Collins.
Bleacher Report previously suggested Michael Schofield III as the pick. He also has 86 career starts.
Schofield most played for the 2015 Denver Broncos team that won the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium, and he last played for the Chicago Bears in 2022.
“Schofield has experience anywhere but center, so he could be Banks or at least a good depth play in San Francisco,” the Bleacher Report staff wrote.
The 49ers’ offensive line issues could lead to a tight transition If the 49ers don’t have enough depth on the offensive line on game day, tight end Charlie Woerner would move to the line.
“We have to change it somehow,” 49ers offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Chris Foerster told reporters Thursday.
“And it’s kind of funny, I told Trent that this morning because they only recently went to eight offensive linemen,” Foerster added.
“When I got to the NFL, we always had eight, but then special teams and everything else took over.”
“So we went to seven, everything suddenly became seven. So you had seven and very rarely, probably three times in 25, 30 years, did you have to go to some other position on the offensive line, Foerster continued.
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