Patriots Reportedly Close To Signing Detroit Lions Linebacker For Third Foxboro Stint

The New England Patriots are signing a Detroit Lions linebacker. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Jamie Collins. The talented veteran is on to enter his third stint with the Patriots. It is a big deal for the veteran and he will be an excellent addition for the current Patriots team. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo was the first to confirm the signing, and ESPN reported it.

Source confirms the Patriots and Jamie Collins are working on a reunion. Nothing official but a deal could happen this week. @FieldYates was on it first.

— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) October 5, 2021

A reunion in the making: the Patriots are working towards a deal with free agent LB Jamie Collins to bring him back for his third stint with the team, per source.

Collins should be able to contribute right away given his familiarity with the system.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 5, 2021

Patriots are signing the Lions linebacker for a reason

Detroit released Collins last week. He wasn’t a good fit for the Lions and he had trouble fitting in Aaron Glenn’s system. As we all know, Collins lost his job to rookie Derrick Barness.

Collins must be really excited to join the Patriots again. He joined the Patriots as a second-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. The linebacker made a Pro Bowl in his third season with the team. He spent two seasons with the Cleveland Browns and joined the Patriots again in 2019. Detroit got him in 2020 but his time is over.

The Lions coaching staff had great plans for Collins. He is an experienced linebacker with great skills and aggressiveness. Collins had the chance to work under then-Lions coach Matt Patricia. They knew each other from their time in New England. In 2020, Collins had a key role in the Lions’ defense and had 101 tackles.

The new coaching staff didn’t really like what Collins had to offer. He struggled in Week 2 and the team lost the match to the Green Bay Packers. Dan Campbell wanted to make a change and Collins ended up on the bench. Detroit tried to make things easier for Collins and they even pulled out a trade deal. However, things didn’t work and Collins had to go one way or another. The Lions released him and now he is on his way to Foxboro. Things got really well for the veteran and he must be excited about all these opportunities. Playing under Bill Belichick again feels really great. Maybe Collins is the right fit for the Patriots at the moment.