Report: Detroit Lions cut former All-Pro linebacker on Monday

The Detriot Lions are waiving linebacker Jamie Collins. Detriot attempted to trade him over the weekend, but after finding no suiters they have elected to cut the former all-pro.

Collins before this year

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.

In March of last year, Collins signed a three-year deal for $30 million with the Lions. This reunited him with his former defensive coordinator in New England and then Lions head coach Matt Patricia. But their reunion would be short-lived as Patricia would be fired midway through the season. In 2020 he had 101 combined tackles, 55 solo, one sack, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovered.

Collins is set to make $8.8 million in guaranteed money from the Lions this season. Detriot tried to adjust that amount to make his contract more tradeable by converting $5 million into an upfront bonus. But now that they have elected to release him they will still be fully responsible for the entire amount. And for Collins, now that he has been released he is free to sign wherever he wants now.

Two forces heading in different directions

When news originally broke of the Lions’ desire to part ways with Collins head coach Dan Campbell jumped in to explain the team’s reasoning.

“I think we’ve been through two games now and you make your assessment and your judgment after two games and that’s where we’re at,” Campbell said last Thursday. “There again, we felt like it was, if you’re going to grow and you’re going to try to get better as a team, as a unit, everything, you better do it now.”

It is not that the Lions can’t use Collins, they are just not heading in the direction that suits a veteran player like himself. The Lions are now 0-3 after losing to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday and are not likely to compete for a playoff spot. And rather than hanging on to the still serviceable veteran, they are granting him his freedom from Detriot. Freedom he can use to find a team who is playing for a Superbowl now and not in the midst of a re-build.