Lamar Jackson reacts to tragic death of former Ravens teammate Alex Collins

When 21-year-old Lamar Jackson entered the Baltimore Ravens franchise, the former Louisville star had a fellow South Florida native in the building to welcome him to the team. Running back Alex Collins played just one season with Jackson, but he made a big impression on the rookie who went on to win the NFL MVP award a year later.

Collins passed away on Sunday night due to a motorcycle accident leaving hundreds to share tributes to the former Arkansas Razorbacks star. Jackson shared his thoughts on his old teammate’s passing on Tuesday.

“AC, that’s my boy, he’s from Broward County too,” Jackson said. “He was here my rookie year, we was always chatting, playing around, stuff like that in the locker room. Great energy, great guy to be around. Just sorry for the loss, you know, and especially to his family, because he was a great guy.”

🙏🏾👼🏾 https://t.co/T3uzrKi7f4

— Lamar Jackson (@Lj_era8) August 15, 2023

In the season that Jackson and Collins played together in 2018, the running back rushed for 411 yards in 10 games played with a career-high seven touchdowns.

Broward County Sherriff’s Office investigating Collins’ death

Collins passed away at just the age of 28, with both the Razorbacks and Baltimore Ravens delivering the news of his death via X.

Just a few hours later, the cause of Collins’ death was revealed. He was in a motorcycle accident, colliding with an SUV. The accident occurred in the hometown of Collins, Fort Lauderdale. A statement from the Broward County Sherriff’s office told the entire story.

“The crash occurred at approximately 10:20 p.m., on Sunday, Aug. 13, near the 3300 block of West Oakland Park Boulevard,” a statement said via Andy Slater. The preliminary investigation revealed Alexander Collins was traveling eastbound on a 2004 Suzuki GSX-R600K motorcycle on West Oakland Park Boulevard approaching Northwest 33rd Avenue. At the same time, an adult female was traveling westbound in a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban SUV on West Oakland Park Boulevard.

“According to investigators, at some point, the Chevrolet driver proceeded to turn left to travel south onto Northwest 33rd Avenue. As the car crossed the eastbound lanes, the motorcycle struck the rear passenger side of the SUV. The impact caused the motorcyclist to enter the rear passenger side window of the Chevrolet and come to a final rest inside the car. The collision also caused the Chevrolet to rotate clockwise before finally resting.”

At the end of the statement, the Broward County Sherriff’s office said the fatal crash is still under investigation.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.