NFL News: La'eL Collins Signs 3-Year $1.65M Deal With Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys have signed offensive tackle La’el Collins to a $1.65 million contract over three years after teams passed on him because of a controversy involving the murder of his ex-girlfriend.

Collins, whose contract with the Cowboys is fully guaranteed, played for the Louisiana State University Tigers from 2011 to 2014 in college football. Collins helped the team to an SEC championship in 2011 when he was a Freshman All-American team member and also became a First Team All-SEC member in 2014.

Because of his history off the field, Collins went undrafted in the recent 2015 NFL Draft but the Cowboys are willing to roll the dice on him as he was touted as a top prospect entering the rookie selection this season. Before signing with Dallas, Collins met with some of the players from the Miami Dolphins and also with Rex Ryan, the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, according to an NFL.com report.

What scared off NFL squads from drafting Collins is in his probable involvement with the death of his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Brittney Mills. He was questioned by police authorities but was not considered a suspect in the crime. The probable backlash from fans who might have drafted him is possible with Collins’ history and it was Dallas who was willing to take the risk.

Collins’ agent is Deryk Gilmore, who also represents Nebraska’s Randy Gregory, who was the Cowboys’ second round pick in the recent draft. Dallas also drafted Byron Jones as the 27th over all pick in the draft.

“There are a lot of great offensive tackles in the league. I like to try to pattern my game off of Jason Peters. I love him. He's a physical beast, man, and I like guys like that,” Collins said an another NFL article in July 2014. “I like (Redskins tackle) Trent Williams, (Seahawks tackle) Russell Okung, great athletic, big tackles who are strong and physical. Those are the kinds of guys I try to take something from.”

The 6-foot-5 Collins, who was the team captain of his college team, started all 13 games at left tackle for LSU in his senior season and led the team in offensive snaps with 843 total and knockdowns with 88.

Email j.gloria@IBTimes.com.au to contact author.