ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — La’el Collins has a clear goal in Buffalo:
“To dominate,” Collins said.
What dominating looks like, has several layers to it, as does Collins journey to Buffalo.
A dominant performance by the Bills against his former team, the Cowboys, last season, is what initially grabbed his attention, when Buffalo ran for 266 yards in a 31-10 win.
“When you’re able to line up in the same formation and run the same play over and over again and they know you’re running it against their will and they can’t stop it, that’s an offensive lineman’s dream,” Collins said. “That’s when you know you’re imposing your will. Just watching that and seeing what this group is about, seeing what this team is about… just that little piece that hit home with me.”
Collins watched that game on the TV. He’s started in 86 games across an eight year career with the Cowboys and Bengals, but hasn’t appeared in a game since December 2022.
That's when he suffered an injury against New England, where he tore all three ligaments in his left knee.
“That’s a tough picture to put yourself in,” Collins said. “To deal with an injury that’s as traumatic as tearing your knee, it’s something you can’t really explain. I felt like last year, I maybe could’ve put myself in a position to play some football, but I knew mentally that the tank was empty.”
The mental part of the recovery, a challenge Collins had to overcome.
“That was tough days,” Collins said. “That was days where you have 70,000 thoughts in your head running crazy, telling you you might not be good enough. You might not come back.”
But Collins is coming back.
“At the end of the day, the best way to combat that noise is by combatting that with work, and discipline and building that confidence," Collins said.
Something that’s building every day in Buffalo. After spending the end of last season on the Cowboys’ practice squad, Collins signed in April with the Bills, bringing his tackle and guard versatility to Western New York.
“I love it,” Collins said of his positional versatility. “I think that’s a benefit to me, being able to play anywhere.”
Slowly working his way back, practice by practice.
“Every chance I get to take a rep, it doesn’t matter if it’s with the ones, twos or threes, take advantage of that opportunity that you get,” Collins said.
“I’m so far from where I want to be right now, and I know I’ve got a lot of work to do, so I still feel like the process is still on going.”
A process he hopes helps him achieve the goal he’s set out for himself in Buffalo.
“They brought me here to play football and I came here to dominate and I’m going to let everything else take care of itself. I’m going to show up every day and go to work. Help the young guys, and do whatever they ask me.”
“I’m super grateful and I just look forward to giving Bills Mafia everything left in me. I’m ready to go ball. I’m ready to go dominate.”