What Can Patriots Expect from Jamie Collins the Second Time Around?

Jamie Collins is back with the New England Patriots and will be looking to re-write how things ended the first time around. The 29-year-old had an exciting initial three-year spell with the Patriots between 2013 and 2016, but his stay in New England came to an unexpected end.

On his way out the door, Collins was criticized for failing to stick to the gameplan and freelancing too much within the Patriots’ structured system. A simpler explanation was that Collins was just going to be too expensive for the Patriots and the team got what they could for him (third-round comp pick) and still went on to win a Super Bowl. Either way, the Pats sent him packing midway into the 2016 season.

After including that pick in a package for Brandin Cooks in 2017, the Pats then moved Cooks to the Rams, complicating the return on Collins. The ultimate result of the Collins trade? One year of Cooks, and current Patriots Deatrich Wise, Isaiah Wynn, Keion Crossen, Ryan Izzo and rookie Byron Cowart. Yes, the Pats turned Collins into a ton of value and now he’s back.

A successful debut season for the Browns saw Collins earn a lucrative four-year contract with Cleveland, worth up to $50 million. However, injury curtailed his 2017 season after sustaining a torn medial cruciate ligament. He was placed on injured reserve and came back into the sideline towards the end of the year. After a 16-game season in 2018 with 104 tackles and four sacks, the Browns were content to let Collins walk back to the Pats. He also had a career-high 13 tackles for loss.

The good news for Patriots fans is that money should no longer be a distraction for Collins. Being dumped by the Patriots in his first spell must have been a bitter pill for him to swallow, watching them go on to win two more Super Bowls without him while he endured a winless 2017 season with the Browns.

This time around, Collins has captured the imagination of the Patriots’ coaching staff, who have been “fired up by what they have seen” in terms of his off-season displays both “on the field” and “in the building”. Collins was thrown right back into the mix in minicamp. His athleticism was never in doubt and along with Kyle Van Noy, gives the Patriots another three-down linebacker with the ability to cover in space.

Collins was always an ideal linebacker for today’s NFL, even if he had a disappointing 2015 AFC Championship that saw him in coverage for two Broncos tight end touchdowns. How will the Pats manage his snaps now with a deeper linebacker group than they’ve had in recent memory? As we saw in 2003 and 2004, having a deep and versatile group of linebackers is a good problem to have and one Bill Belichick must relish.

The Patriots are likely to be in a head-to-head battle for the AFC title with the Chiefs, who have MVP quarterback, Patrick Mahomes in their ranks. Collins really could once again become a key cog in the Patriots’ wheel in a variety of roles. Between him and Michael Bennett, the Patriots have some exciting players to play with in the front seven. Both should be effective against mobile quarterbacks like Mahomes that are dominating much of the NFL these days.

With just a one-year deal we’ll get a good idea where Collins’ head is at now. Was he happy to get paid and now wants to win? Does he now see how much better the defense is when he’s just doing his job? Can he put everything else aside and just put his other-worldly talent to use? If he is, he might reach new levels in his second stint.