The New England Patriots traded away All Pro LB Jamie Collins in the middle of the 2016 season and went on to win the Super Bowl so there shouldn’t be any seller’s remorse. Collins went on to earn a huge contract extension with the Cleveland Browns.
Collins is happy. The Patriots are happy. All is well.
The latest report out of Cleveland is another good one for Collins and it’s a pretty funny account of how Collins is probably the best player on the Browns right now.
Per Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot and the Browns coaching staff, Collins could be the best linebacker, safety, and quarterback on the roster.
[Browns defensive coordinator] Gregg Williams wasn't surprised Thursday when his star linebacker Jamie Collins was the only player in a fun skills competition at the end of the minicamp Thursday to fire the ball into one of three small pockets in a quarterback net at the goal-line from 20 yards out.
[Collins] lasered it into the pocket like he practices it at night with his eyes closed.
"He's begging me to play free safety, and I'm not saying he couldn't be the best one out there right now,'' said Williams. "If he wants to play defensive end, he could play defensive end. There are a lot of things about his versatility that it's going to be fun and challenging to find spots to cut him loose and let him go."
For the sake of honesty, the competition was among the wide receivers and the linebackers and no quarterbacks were involved, but Collins was a state champion at quarterback in high school and I think it’s better to imagine that he’s the best quarterback on the Browns.
But I also wouldn’t be surprised if Collins was the best safety on the Browns or if he could contribute at defensive end. He’s a total freak of an athlete and the safeties and defensive ends on the roster are either rookies or unimpressive.
Gregg Williams’ defense with the Rams actually featured an interesting linebacker position that asked former safety Mark Barron to line up in the box as one of the two linebackers. With Browns LB Christian Kirksey also signing a big extension, either Kirksey or Collins will serve in Barron’s role and Collins- a former college safety- makes the most sense.
So Collins might ultimately get his wish and play a little bit as a safety in the Browns defense. And, who knows, based on the current Cleveland roster, perhaps the Browns might actually need him to step in at quarterback.