One of the big storylines in New England this season has been when – and how – the Patriots will pay three of their young star defensive players: linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins, and cornerback Malcolm Butler.
But in a stunner, they’ve taken one of those names out of the equation.
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The Patriots traded versatile linebacker Jamie Collins, seen here getting an interception earlier this year, to Cleveland.
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The Patriots traded Collins to the Cleveland Browns. According to the Browns website, New England will receive a conditional draft pick. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that it would be a compensatory third-round pick, but there’s no guarantee that the Browns will get one of those – compensatory picks are awarded by the league based on big-name players lost to other teams in free agency. The Browns lost three-time Pro Bowl center Alex Mack to the Atlanta Falcons, and he could be deemed worthy of a third.
Keep in mind, if the Patriots were to receive the Browns’ natural fourth-round pick, they almost certainly would have to forfeit it: as the very last condition of the franchise’s punishment for deflate-gate, they must give up their highest fourth-round pick in 2017. With Cleveland winless at this point, they’re on track to pick first in each round.
It’s surprising to see the Patriots part ways with Collins, the 52nd overall pick in the 2013 draft. The 6-foot-4, 250 pound Mississippi native is an athletic freak, and in his time at Southern Miss played safety, linebacker and defensive end. With the Patriots, he did a little bit of everything – in 50 games, he had 10 forced fumbles, 10.5 sacks, five interceptions and 20 pass break-ups.
Less than two years ago, as Collins was starting to come into his own as a versatile playmaker on a young defense, Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked if Collins might become the prototype for future defensive players, and Belichick made it clear that the up-and-comer was a special talent.
“Look, Jamie Collinses don’t – it’s not like there’s two or three dozen of them in the draft every year. We’re lucky to have one. Was Lawrence Taylor a prototype outside linebacker? Where’s the next Lawrence Taylor? Those guys don’t grow on trees,” Belichick said in December 2014.
According to the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin, things weren’t going well between New England and Collins in terms of a new deal, so the team shopped him instead:
Source says Patriots were "having a lot of trouble" in negotiations w/ Collins for a long-term contract. Set to be a free agent this spring— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) October 31, 2016
Former Cleveland general manager Michael Lombardi, who spent a few years with the Patriots in a nebulous role before leaving earlier this year, tweeted that he’s not surprised to see New England trade Collins, saying the fourth-year player hasn’t been playing well; on the second play of Sunday’s game with Buffalo, Lombardi said Collins did whatever he wanted and it allowed the Bills to gain 28 yards. “Been happening all year. It was not going to continue.”
Belichick is not new to shipping big-name players elsewhere; this is the same man who traded potential Hall of Famers Richard Seymour and Logan Mankins to Oakland and Tampa Bay, respectively. But when they were traded, Seymour was nearly 30 years old and Mankins was 31. Collins just turned 27 on Oct. 20.
If the Browns are acquiring Collins, they likely have every intention of keeping him around long term. But the player is in for a big change: New England is an NFL-best 7-1, while the Browns have yet to win a game.
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