The NFL has denied LSU offensive lineman La'el Collins' request that his name be pulled from the list of prospects available for selection in the NFL Draft following questions around his potential involvement in a murder.
Collins was supposed to be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft, which begins Thursday night in Chicago.
Collins has been involved in an ongoing investigation into the murder of his ex-girlfriend in Louisiana. He is not considered a suspect by police in Baton Rouge, but, according to reports, the lineman was called in for questioning in regards to the crime.
If Collins was pulled out of the draft (the story was first reported by Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, and confirmed by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network), the plan was to clear his name in the matter and then to enter him into the NFL’s Supplemental Draft, which will take place before training camps open later this year.
According to reports, several NFL teams have completely removed Collins’ name from their draft boards because of his connection to the incident in Louisiana, but the NFL Players Association decided not to allow him to remove his name from draft consideration.
