Cleveland Browns: Jamie Collins’ contract comes under attack
By Randy Gurzi
Sporting news listed the worst contracts in the NFL and the Cleveland Browns ended up being called out for paying so much to linebacker Jamie Collins
This offseason the Cleveland Browns have been working to add talent to the roster while also distancing themselves from some of the mistakes made by the previous regime. According to Sporting News, not all the bad moves have been absolved.
In a recent piece by Jason Fitzgerald, the sports website listed the worst contracts in the entire NFL. A big deal given out by former general manager Sashi Brown was named as the worst for the Browns.
Jamie Collins was a second-round pick of the New England Patriots, but was dealt to Cleveland in 2016 for a third-round pick.
More from Browns News
- How the Browns could maximize Nick Chubb in 2023
- Can Deshaun Watson get to Patrick Mahomes level for Cleveland Browns?
- 3 Cleveland Browns who should see an expanded role in 2023 and 1 who should not
- Is Marcus Davenport on the Browns radar in 2023?
- 5 Free agents from Super Bowl LVII Cleveland Browns should target
The Pats were ready to get what they could and ship off the player who was known to freelance and was playing on an expiring deal. The Browns took him on and gave him a four-year $50 million contract before 2017.
That deal was under attack as FItzgerald says he simply isn’t worth that kind of money:
"“Collins is a good player, but he is not a difference-maker and does not play an expensive position. The Browns still signed him to a top-market contract, which treats Collins as if he were an elite-level player. He played only six games in 2017 and recorded just 21 tackles with one sack.” — Fitzgerald, Sporting News"
The missed games aside, Fitzgerald is correct. Collins is good, but isn’t going to bring wins to the table.
His sam linebacker position isn’t one that wins or loses games and after the team signed Mychal Kendricks, Collins may have fallen to third best overall linebacker behind him and Christian Kirksey.
This season will be huge for Collins as new general manager John Dorsey will be quick to pull the trigger on moving on from players who underachieve. He didn’t give the contract to Collins either, so there’s no loyalty there.
Next: Ranking the Browns schedule based on difficulty
If the linebacker misses time again, or simply doesn’t prove to be a game changer, he could be on his way out following the 2018 season.