The Chicago Bears could come to regret not signing any of these five free agents

The Chicago Bears could come to regret not signing La’el Collins

This might be the one player on this list who I am most disappointed about. That said, La’el Collins ended up moving on from the Cowboys to play for the Bengals — the team that just lost the Super Bowl. It’s highly unlikely that he wouldn’t have come to Chicago.

That said, it is pretty obvious that many free agents will follow the money. Based on what Collins received from the Bengals, I’m not entirely sure money is what motivated Collins. He signed a three-year $30 million dollar deal. This allows Collins the ability to sign another big deal at the age of 30 — still within his prime.

Collins was the right tackle in Dallas, but honestly, he has the skill set to play left tackle if needed. He was a left tackle at LSU. Not only was he a left tackle at LSU, but he was a fairly dominant left tackle. He could have been the answer here for the Chicago Bears at a relatively inexpensive price compared to most left tackles in the league. The Bengals are paying him $10 million per year in AAV, but honestly, he would have been worth a longer-term deal for more money.

Ryan Poles may regret not pushing harder to see if Collins would come to Chicago — even if that cost the team say $60 million (double what he’s getting in Cincinnatti) over four years. Collins could be the instant upgrade and mainstay to protect Justin Fields’ blindside.