Ex-NFL Agent Names One Patriot In List Of Players ‘Entering Pivotal Year Financially’

The New England Patriots will have a few familiar faces back to the field this season. Benjamin Watson and Jamie Collins are back with the team, and Collins will have to prove so many things. The team traded him to the Cleveland Browns in 2016, and he will have to prove everyone that he is in an excellent shape. He signed a one-year deal with the team, and Patriots coaches already like him a lot. Joel Corry, the former agent, made a list for CBS Sports, and ranked 10 players who will have the most to prove in the 2019 season.

Collins is part of this list, of course.

“Collins found out the grass isn’t always greener on the other side during his two-and-a-half seasons with the Browns. The only thing greener for Collins’s stint in Cleveland is his wallet. He made $27 million from the four-year deal he signed in January 2017 before his release in March. Collins has returned to the Patriots on a one-year, $2 million deal containing an additional $2 million in incentives. He played his best football with the Patriots, earning All-Pro honors in 2015. Collins has reportedly made a great impression since returning to New England, who drafted him in 2013’s second round before trading him to the Browns during the middle of the 2016 season.”

Trey Flowers is gone now, and the team will have to pay more attention to the front seven. If Collins manages to make an impact in his second stint in New England, head coach Bill Belichick will prove everyone that he made a really good choice.

Collins is more than happy to re-join the team.

“I was surprised,” Collins told reporters back in May. “But then again, I wasn’t, because I’m just a free agent, so obviously a lot of teams are going to contact me or whatever. That’s just the business of the game. I’m always surprised no matter what. I’m surprised right now just being in the position.

“I mean, I started here. I had the opportunity to come out and start my career here. Obviously, yes, that played a big factor. Like I said, whatever opportunity presents itself, it’s not just me. I’ve got other people to think about as well. It’s a team thing.”