Cleveland Browns: Top 10 moves to right the ship over the past three years
By Randy Gurzi
10. Trading for and locking up Jamie Collins
He may not be the biggest name on the defense anymore, but at one point he was. Desperate for someone who could be considered a playmaker, the Browns made a trade in-season with the New England Patriots for linebacker Jamie Collins.
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The former second-round pick had become one of the bigger playmakers in the Pats front-seven but he was nearing the end of his contract and the strict New England franchise had reservations about giving the ‘freelancing’ playmaker a big contract.
Cleveland was able to use that to their advantage as they needed just a third-round pick to secure his services in October of 2016. After recording 69 tackles and two sacks, the Browns decided they saw enough to lock him up long term. Collins was given a four-year $50 million deal and expected to become a key piece of their defensive rebuild.
So far, he hasn’t fully shown his impact as he was out of action by Week 10 in 2017 with a knee injury. He managed to suit up for just six games and had 31 tackles a sack and an interception.
The trade, and subsequent re-signing were bigger than his play though. Collins had star power and could have demanding money from many teams, but he chose to stay in town. That was big for proving to other potential free agents that Cleveland could be a destination.