Judge takes case of Dallas Cowboys tackle under advisement

Judge Amos L. Mazzant has taken the request of Dallas Cowboys tackle La’el Collins under advisement, per Pro Football Talk. Collins had a hearing Friday regarding his five-game suspension for violating the NFL’s drug policy.

Collins has already served three games of the suspension, but would be available Sunday when Dallas faces the New York Giants. However, coach Mike McCarthy said there are no plans to play him.

The NFL continues to aggressively defend its position that Collins should be suspended the full five games. Agent Peter Schaffer, who assists in the representation of Collins in this matter, issued a statement following the hearing.

“I was embarrassed today to be a part of the NFL, as the league’s outside lawyers made numerous unsubstantiated and unnecessary attempts to assassinate the character of Mr. Colllins,” Schaffer said. “He is a member of the league and should be treated with respect. The NFL’s ‘win at all costs’ mentality when dealing with its own players on display today was and is shameful. We hold the NFL in the highest regard, but today their counsel didn’t live up to that standard.”

Collins’ argument is that the NFL substance-abuse policy doesn’t permit suspensions for missed tests and that the NFL misrepresented to an arbitrator that La’El Collins previously had been suspended four games.

“The suit is meritless as already determined by two jointly-appointed NFL-NFLPA impartial arbitrators who have reviewed this,” the NFL said. “We will seek to have this case dismissed as soon as possible.”

According to ESPN, the league was preparing to suspend Collins for five games, but the NFLPA helped negotiate the suspension to just two games. Collins, though, appealed the suspension, with the arbitrator ruling that Collins’s suspension should increase back to the original five games.

La’El Collins missed seven tests and believes he had legitimate reasons for the missed tests, including having one scheduled for the day that Cowboys coach Markus Paul died last November.

Since signing with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2015, La’el Collins has been a staple on the Dallas offensive line, starting 62 games in that span.

Although a judge did take the case of the Cowboys tackle under advisement, it appears he won’t take the field until his scheduled date of return anyway.