Tag: Jamie Collins

Patriots elevate former All-Pro LB to active roster ahead of Bears game

Patriots elevating former All-Pro linebacker to active roster

The New England Patriots will be experiencing a blast from the past against the Chicago Bears with former All-Pro linebacker Jamie Collins making his official return.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on Monday that the team was elevating the 33-year-old defensive player for the Monday Night Football game. Collins could serve as a solid rotational piece capable of adding even more versatility along the defensive front.

He’s a strong tackler with the ability to drop into coverage, and he’s also a feared pass-rusher. Collins is no one-trick pony, and he could surely boost the defense whenever he’s on the field.

He’ll join a Patriots defensive unit that just made Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb look human for the first this season. It’s a unit that has only given up 15 total points over the last two weeks.

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Patriots expected to sign former All-Pro LB Jamie Collins

Patriots bringing back a former Super Bowl champion and All-Pro linebacker

The New England Patriots are bringing back a former Super Bowl champion and All-Pro linebacker with Jamie Collins now expected to sign with the team.

ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported the news on Monday.

Collins is a versatile playmaker at the linebacker position with the ability to help improve the pass-rush, stop the run and drop back and make plays in pass coverage. His return should add a significant boost to the linebacking corps for the Patriots.

After being cut by the Detroit Lions, he finished the 2021 season with the team and has remained an unsigned free agent ever since. He ended the year with 20 tackles, one sack, one interception and three pass deflections in a Patriots uniform.

This signing gives the team another defensive playmaker capable of coming in as a rotational piece to cause headaches for opposing offenses. It’s a good move considering the fact that Collins has always fit Belichick’s scheme better than anyone else’s. Just look at his forgettable pit stops with the Cleveland Browns and Lions.

Collins being back in New England is a huge plus for a Patriots team desperately trying to climb their way out of a 1-3 hole.

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Patriots bring back former All-Pro LB Jamie Collins for free agent visit

The Patriots hosted a familiar face for a free agent visit on Tuesday

It has been a busy afternoon for the New England Patriots with the team reportedly bringing in veteran linebacker Jamie Collins for a free agent visit on Tuesday.

Collins, who was drafted by the Patriots in the second-round of the 2013 NFL draft, has a long history with the team. He helped them stun the Seattle Seahawks to win Super Bowl XLIX.

The Patriots traded him to the Cleveland Browns in 2016 before he returned to New England for a second stint with the team in 2019. He then left again for the Detroit Lions before coming back last year a few weeks into the 2021 season.

There’s obviously a pattern here with Collins moving on to another team—or in this case, taking a longer offseason break—and eventually returning to the Patriots at some point. The former All-Pro linebacker is a proven disruptive force along the defensive front, and he’s also athletic enough to drop back in coverage.

There’s so much more to his game than just being a hammer, and it appears like that’s something the Patriots are interested in, again.

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Jamie Collins among ex-Lions hitting the tryout circuit this week

Linebacker Jamie Collins is among 2021 Detroit Lions players hitting the tryout circuit this week

Life comes at you fast…

One year ago, Jamie Collins was a starting linebacker for the Detroit Lions. Now the veteran and former Pro Bowler is still trying to catch on with another NFL team.

Collins is one of a few former Lions players who are hitting the tryout/visit circuit around the NFL in advance of Week 1. The 32-year-old linebacker had a visit with the Las Vegas Raiders on Wednesday. He was not immediately signed by the Raiders.

His time in Detroit did not end well. Collins played lethargically and ineffectively in the first two Lions games of 2021. After being a healthy scratch in Week 3, the Lions released the veteran who had joined the team as a prominent free agent addition in 2020 under then-GM Bob Quinn. Collins signed with one of his old teams, the New England Patriots, for the remainder of the season.

Collins wasn’t the only ex-Lion still actively looking for a gig this week. Linebacker Rashod Berry tried out with the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens this week, per the NFL’s transaction wire. Defensive back and return specialist Corey Ballentine also tried out with the Cardinals. Both Berry and Ballentine played four games in Detroit last season.

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Raiders host veteran LB Jamie Collins on free agent visit

Veteran LB Jamie Collins visits Raiders

It would appear the Raiders’ linebacker room is set for the start of the season. But it seems they might still be looking to bulk up the unit. Wednesday they hosted former Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins on a free agent visit according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

This is just a visit and it may not lead to a signing. The 32-year-old started just four games in 12 appearances last season with the Patriots and Lions.

Since making the Pro Bowl in 2015, Collins has bounced around the league a bit. He spent two and a half seasons with the Browns, then returned to sign back with the Patriots for a season, then spent a bit over a season in Detroit  before again signing back with the Patriots.

To his credit, it was just a season ago that Collins put up 101 combined tackles in 14 games with the Lions at the age of 31. If he can show the Raiders coaching staff — made up mostly of former Patriots coaches — that he’s still got something left in the tank, there could be room for him in Las Vegas.

List of remaining unsigned Patriots free agents

There are still some key veteran players on this list.

The New England Patriots are shifting focus to the second week of preseason football, and there are notable free agents for the team that are still unsigned.

That obviously doesn’t mean that’ll remain the case, but with roster cuts right around the corner, it does bring into question what the future holds for some of the players.

Could a return to New England be in the cards at some point? Or, will another opportunity pop up elsewhere to help fill a vacant roster spot?

So many things can happen over the course of training camp and preseason football that could create roster openings where there initially weren’t any. That means there’s still hope for every player on this list.

Here are the Patriots’ free agents that still remain unsigned.

Breaking down the Lions dead salary cap room for 2022

A year after spending over $67 million on over 50 players no longer in Detroit — both of which led the NFL in 2021 — the Lions are in much better financial shape entering training camp of 2022.

One sure sign of progress for the Detroit Lions as they enter the second season of the radical franchise rebuild is the dead salary cap the team is carrying into 2022.

A year after spending over $67 million on over 30 players no longer in Detroit — both of which led the NFL in 2021 — the Lions are in much better financial shape entering training camp of 2022.

The Lions currently have just four players who are no longer on the roster who remain on the salary cap ledger for the coming season. The dead cap figure of just over $20.3 million ranks 15th in the league, another significant improvement in the second season of GM Brad Holmes running the show.

As a reference, the Atlanta Falcons are on the hook for the most dead money in 2022 at $63.2 million. The New York Jets have the lowest dead cap figure at $2.1 million.

Patriots LB Ronnie Perkins: ‘Time to step up’ into new role after veteran departures

“I put the work in and did a lot of things to help myself to be a linebacker.”

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New England Patriots linebacker Ronnie Perkins flew under the radar in 2021 as a rookie. The former third-round pick had to undergo a transformation — with so much to learn in a new position with the Patriots. So he sat on the sideline (barely seeing the field) to watch and learn. But this season, it has to be different. He has to contribute. He indicated he knows that.

The Patriots parted ways with linebackers Kyle Van Noy, Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins — though Hightower’s return isn’t outside the realm of possibility. In the meantime, the Patriots are looking to youngsters like Josh Uche, Cameron McGrone and Perkins.

Perkins said he spent 2021 working on technique, building muscle and improving his understanding of the X’s and O’s. He said that he almost never dropped into coverage at Oklahoma, which allowed him to work solely as a pass-rusher. Perkins learned how to do that last season, and will start applying his new knowledge this offseason.

“I’ve been focused on coming in this year ready, coming in stronger, coming in in shape, ready to help the team however I can,” Perkins said Tuesday. “It’s definitely sad to see those guys go, Jamie, KVN, High but it also tells us it’s time to step up. We can’t lean on those older guys anymore, it’s time to step into their shoes.”

Ja’Whaun Bentley is the only returning starter at linebacker. It feels like a new generation of linebackers need to rise in New England.

“I put the work in and did a lot of things to help myself to be a linebacker,” Perkins said. “I like doing it. First time doing it, I was a little off, like anything. But now I’m comfortable and I like it.”

With the team spending this week in minicamp, Perkins is sure to get looks with the first-team defense. When training camp rolls around, they’ll need him to look like a competent contributor, particularly on third downs.

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These 5 free agents haven’t re-signed with the Patriots. What are the chances they return?

We take a look at the New England Patriots remaining free agents.

The NFL free-agent market is moving fast and furious, but the New England Patriots still have some names that they have not re-signed to the organization. With how much movement there has been over the past couple of weeks, there still is a chance that New England could elect to keep some of their remaining free agents.

As New England has added depth pieces in the past couple of weeks, they have more holes to fill and limited cap space to do so. How they manage these next couple of weeks will be important as they head into the NFL draft.

We take a look at the remaining free agents, and decide whether they will stay in New England,

Report: Patriots closing in on deal to re-sign linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley

Ja’Whaun Bentley is coming off a career year and the Patriots needed depth at linebacker.

The New England Patriots are closing in a deal to re-sign linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss and Field Yates.

Bentley, 25, spent his four NFL seasons with the Patriots and he’s coming off his best year. He recorded three forced fumbles, a sack, five quarterback hits and he led the team in tackles with 109. He had 91 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 13 games during the 2020 season.

The Patriots have been quiet in free agency, but they did re-sign Devin McCourty, Matthew Slater, James White, James Ferentz, Nick Folk and Brian Hoyer thus far. Bentley is another experienced veteran that will be a leader within the defense.

New England released Kyle Van Noy to save cap space, while Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins are still testing the market. The return of Bentley gives some security at a linebacker position that was looking shaky heading into free agency.

The only free agents the Patriots have signed to this point are cornerback Terrance Mitchell and running back/wide receiver Ty Montgomery.

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