The parties still had to hash through the financials and structure of what turned out to be a three-year, $30 million, but by Sunday, the papers were signed. The Bengals had their new cornerstone to the offensive line that rated as one of the worst pass-blocking units in the league.
“From the jump, I felt like Cincinnati was a perfect fit for me,” Collins said Wednesday via Zoom from his home in Dallas, following some travels delays Monday and Tuesday. “Just the history with me and coach Frank, and when you look at that roster and the way this team is built, I feel like we’ve got the best chance to win, and win right now. It’s gonna come down to the 11 guys on the field, offense, defense, special teams. We’re just gonna have to stick together, work and let everything show for itself. I’m excited. I’m excited to get to work with these guys.”
The Bengals took him to The Precinct, as has become tradition with free agent recruits, and there was another dinner planned for him with head coach Zac Taylor and Pollack, but he told them he didn’t come “to be wined and dined.”
He was more interested in getting a sense of what the locker room would be like, so he went over to Burrow’s house Friday along with the three other newly signed free agents, center Ted Karras, right guard Alex Cappa and tight end Hayden Hurst. Collins described it as a laid back evening, just talking football and “hanging out with the guys.” The group had already eaten dinner, so Burrow served crackers and cupcakes.
“I’m sure if you wanted anything special he could have made it happen,” Collins said. “... I feel like I was at my little brother’s house when I walked in. Nobody was uptight. Everyone was just cool. Just like the locker room. For me that was special, man. It was authentic, it was real and it was pure.”
“For me, that really put it over the top,” he added. “That really stamped it. That really showed me this is where I wanted to be. These are the guys I want to be around. That moment was probably the biggest moment.”
On Saturday as it was being reported elsewhere that Collins had left town without a deal, he was still hanging around trying to get a feel for the city and hoping the contract would get done. He went to Kenwood Towne Center, figuring he could do some shopping and get a bite to eat and go unnoticed while wearing a COVID-19 protection mask.
Fans recognized him, though, and he said he enjoyed hearing so many people wanting to see him sign with the Bengals. He told them it was close and he was optimistic the whole time, he said.
“You know any time you are playing the waiting game you are letting the guys that do the contracts do the contracts,” Collins said. “They have to take their time to do their job and everything like that. You got to give them time. During that time, I just spent a lot of time seeing the city. Just going by the river. I met some cool people who like to fish, which was cool. They were showing me all the big fish they caught out of the river. Might catch me down there on a Monday or Tuesday with my fishing pole on the water. I spent some time doing that and met the people, man they were just great people. They embraced me. For me, I was just letting everything else control itself while I take my mind off things.”
Now Collins is looking forward to getting to work with his new team when that time comes. He told Burrow he is his new “bodyguard,” and now it’s become a nickname he kind of likes. Collins said he imposes his will on defenders, and that is easy to see on tape. He also is motivated to show his new team he is accountable and reliable after missing games in 2020 (hip) and 2021 (five-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy).
Both of those were things the Bengals had to consider in the signing process but Pollack vouched for him and Taylor felt it was the right fit in the end, too.
“He’s an experienced player, he’s played at a high level, so there are a lot of the traits that we’re looking to add to that room,” Taylor said. “Obviously, his background with Frank really puts the icing on the cake there, and Frank coaching him for three years, he felt like this is the type of personality and person that we want in the locker room, to continue building on the culture that we’ve already established here. And so just my experience with L.C. over the course of however many hours I spent with him the other days, that’s what rubbed off on me as well, really excited to get him into the fold.”
Collins also said he likes knowing he was considered “the missing piece” on the offensive line, someone that can help Burrow and the offense take another step forward as they work to complete unfinished business after just coming up short in the Super Bowl. Burrow took 70 sacks and was getting hit as he threw a fourth-down desperation pass that fell incomplete and sealed a win for the Rams.
The new right tackle called the Bengals roster “loaded” and he looks forward to protecting Burrow and blocking for Joe Mixon, who also played a role in his recruitment. The main thing is getting a chance to win with his first contract outside of Dallas, where he spent seven years.
“That’s very important for me at this point of my career,” Collins said. “It’s not about the money, it’s about winning. I want to win. When I walked in that building I knew it was all about ball. ... That’s what I want to be around. Those are the types of guys I want to be around. Any time you’ve got your running back and you’ve got a quarterback that’s just as committed and then you’ve got other guys that love ball, defensive guys hitting you up, that was different. That was a completely different experience, and I’m just excited to know those guys know what type of player I am and what I’m going to bring to this team, so I’m just looking forward to giving the Bengals and Mr. Brown and everybody their return on their investment in a big way. The only goal is to win championships, and I say that with an ‘s’ and with strong, ‘s’, because I want to win championships with this team. This is definitely the team to do it.”
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