Report: Lions exploring trade involving former All-Pro

The Detroit Lions are exploring trade options involving former All-Pro linebacker Jamie Collins, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

“The #Lions are exploring trade options involving LB Jamie Collins, sources say,” Rapoport tweeted. “They have fielded calls. Detroit is going young there, which means Collins may be on his way out if there is a match.”

Rapoport added that rookie linebacker Derrick Barnes has impressed the Lions coaching staff and is in line to receive his most extensive action of the season on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.

Collins’s base salary was reduced from $8.8 million to $3.8 million by converting $5 million into a prorated bonus, making him more tradable.

Jamie Collins is in his ninth NFL seasons and has been with the Detroit Lions since the 2020 season.

Collins was drafted in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Southern Miss by the New England Patriots. In his first three seasons with the Patriots, Collins recorded 247 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.

Midway through the 2016 season, Collins was traded to the Cleveland Browns at the trade deadline of his fourth season. After two and a half seasons in Cleveland, Collins re-signed with the Patriots for the 2019 season and had his career high in sacks, recording 81 tackles, ten tackles for loss and seven sacks.

Collins signed with the Detroit Lions after the 2019 season, reuniting with Matt Patricia, who was his defensive coordinator in his first stint with the Patriots.

Patricia was fired midway through the 2020 season and under new head coach Dan Campbell, the Lions are undergoing a youth movement.

Derrick Barnes was selected in the fourth-round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Purdue. The rookie was the highest-graded linebacker for the Lions in the preseason.

The Lion will face the Baltimore Ravens in week three following their week two loss to division rival, the Green Bay Packers.