CLEVELAND — Early in his NFL career, New England Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins Sr. had a reputation for being a “freelancer,” so much so that the organization jettisoned him to the Cleveland Browns at the midway point of the 2016 season.
Collins signed a lucrative contract extension with the Browns heading into the 2017 season and earned more than $15 million for just 22 games of service.
Since being released by the Browns in the offseason, Collins rejoined the Patriots and he has flourished in the scheme, which adds all the more fuel to Cleveland’s fire heading into Sunday’s game against New England at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
“That’s where he wanted to be,” defensive end Myles Garrett said. “He wanted to be back home, so I’m proud of him. He’s doing well. He’s happy, and that’s all you can ask for, but I hope we beat the hell out of him.”
Browns center JC Tretter added, “Obviously, he is doing some different things there than he did here, but he is a really talented player. They use him well there. It will definitely be a challenge for us, but I think we will be able to handle what we handle.”
In parts of three years with the Browns, Collins registered 204 total tackles, including 142 solo stops and 62 assists with seven sacks, seven passes defended, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and one recovery.
The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Collins was in the middle of his fourth professional season when he was traded to the Browns from the Patriots, who selected him with a second-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft out of the University of Southern Mississippi.
Over his first run with the Patriots, Collins totaled 285 tackles, 10.5 sacks, five interceptions, 10 forced fumbles, four recoveries, one defensive touchdown and a blocked extra point.
“He is so versatile,” Browns offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. “I think that is probably the biggest thing -- his versatility.
“They play him in kind of a hybrid role where he can cover and he can blitz. He can be a matchup problem if you get him on one of your skill players, which they do, and they like to rush him at different spots if they feel like they can take advantage of that matchup. That is the biggest thing, just his versatility.”
This season, Collins is second on the Patriots with 30 total tackles, including 23 solo stops, seven assists, 4.5 sacks for 34.5 lost yards, six quarterback hits, four passes defended and three interceptions, one of which he returned 69 yards for a touchdown.
Additionally, Collins has forced two fumbles and recovered another in just seven games.
The 4.5 sacks put him just one off of his single-season personal best, and the three interceptions are the most of any of his seven-year career.
“Jamie has done a great job for us,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said in a conference call with the Cleveland media. “He is a versatile player, as we all know. He can do a lot of different things. He has made tackles. He has rushed the passer. He has turned the ball over, intercepted passes and been around the ball a lot.
“He is a very explosive, powerful guy who is very athletic, smart and instinctive. He has a really good understanding of our system and has been great with some of our younger players and guys with less experience. Even though he was not here, a lot of the things we were doing or the things we did before, his experience and confidence level in doing those has been very impressive.”