Bengals finalizing deal with former Cowboys OT La'el Collins

The Cincinnati Bengals are finalizing an agreement with free-agent offensive tackle La'el Collins, according to the NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport.

Collins, 28, spent the first six seasons of his career with the Dallas Cowboys after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent in 2015. After initially starting his career at right guard, Collins moved out to right tackle in 2017.

While the Bengals won the AFC championship last season, the team finished the regular season with the third-most sacks allowed. Those issues continued in the playoffs when quarterback Joe Burrow was sacked 19 times in four games, including seven times by the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI.

A year ago, Cincinnati signed former Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Riley Reiff to man the right side of the offensive line, but his season ended in December due to an ankle injury. The Bengals allowed Reiff to leave in free agency and then scooped up former Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting guard Alex Cappa earlier this week.

Collins signed a five-year, $50 million contract extension with the Cowboys in 2019, but was released earlier in March in an effort to save salary-cap space.