The Sports Xchange

Offensive tackle La’el Collins, a possible first-round pick in Thursday’s NFL Draft, is being sought by police for questioning in connection with a murder investigation, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.

Collins, who played college football at LSU, is not a suspect in the case, but police are trying to get more information about the death of a 29-year-old pregnant woman who was shot and killed on Friday in Baton Rouge, La.

“We are consistently pursuing getting in touch with him, not as a suspect, but to ask him questions about the victim,” Cpl. Don Coppola of the Baton Rogue Police Department said, according to WAFB in Baton Rouge. “Detectives have reached out and been in touch with his agent.”

The victim, Brittany Mills, is believed by police to be a former girlfriend of Collins, ESPN.com reported.

“They did have some kind of relationship. Detectives just want to learn more about what he might know,” Coppola said.

Collins’ attorney, Jim Boren, told ESPN that he has remained in contact with the lead detective in the case, and he talked to the district attorney Tuesday. Collins is currently in Chicago for the NFL Draft.

“We took the investigation seriously,” Boren said. “We’ve tried to rule him out as a suspect. We’re going to provide that information to the police, and ultimately (Collins) will sit down and talk to them. But the timing is poor.”

Boren said he retained a private investigative firm hoping to prove that Collins was not near Mills’ home when the shooting took place.

Collins was one of 28 players who accepted the NFL’s invitation to attend the draft in Chicago. NFLDraftScout.com rates Collins as the No. 18 overall prospect in the draft, which suggests he is likely to be taken in the first round.