National Football League

Glazer: NFL rejects request to pull LSU's Collins from draft

Published Apr. 30, 2015 2:36 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

The NFL has denied a request from LSU offensive lineman La'el Collins to be withdrawn from this week's draft and placed in a supplemental draft later this year, FOX Sports NFL Insider Jay Glazer reported.

Collins made the request through his agent, Deryk Gilmore, on Thursday, hours before teams begin making their first-round picks. Collins has been sought by police in connection with the murder of his ex-girlfriend in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Police say he is not a suspect in her shooting, but the investigation could scare off some teams.

Collins has been projected as a first-rounder.

Because there is no precedent or a specific procedure for an eligible player to remove himself from consideration for selection in the traditional college draft, the NFL would need to reach agreement with its players union to amend the Collective Bargaining Agreement and allow Collins to enter the supplemental draft. That motion also would require approval from the NFL management council’s executive committee.

The inability to complete both before Thursday night’s draft  because of the late timing of the request combined with the NFL and Baton Rouge police investigations into the murder still incomplete as more information is gathered made it impossible for the NFL to accommodate Collins.

Collins' former girlfriend Brittany Mills was killed Friday. She was pregnant, and authorities say her unborn child was removed in unstable condition, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports.

Collins has left Chicago, the site of the draft, and returned to Louisiana. He has yet to speak with police, who are continuing the investigation. The goal in trying to move him from this weekend's draft to a supplemental draft was to give him time to clear his name.

The 6-foot-5, 322-pound Collins was a second-team Associated Press All-American.

FOX Sports 1's NFL insider Alex Marvez and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

share

Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Football League