Quote:What, like go to the highest bidder?  I don't think it works that way.  Isn't there a cap for an undrafted rookie free agent?  Otherwise the most talented guys would not enter the draft, then just negotiate and pick what team they wanted to go play for.

Not a cap for rookie free agents, per se, but there is an overall rookie cap. It would be hard for a team to find wiggle room under that cap to give him a first round-ish deal. If exonerated, he'd almost certainly get the biggest UDFA contract ever (aside from a Chad Hutchinson situation, although Hutchinson was a UDFA in name only), but the rookie cap just isn't set up to anticipate situations like this. It's set based upon which picks your team has, so even not having a first-round selection isn't going to clear up enough rookie pool room for a team like the Bills or Seahawks to sign him to a huge deal.

 

Bottom line, Collins is screwed either way. He's either a late-round pick and is offered a late round contract, or he goes undrafted and is stuck with a UDFA deal. Either way, his payday wouldn't come until 2018, and that's assuming he pans out as a starter. His best option at this point if he's cleared might be to refuse to report to camp if he's drafted late (or just not sign a deal in UDFA), go sell cars for a year then re-enter the draft in 2016.

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