Patriots ‘Freak Athlete’s Return Unlikely Without Vet Minimum Contract

The New England Patriots brought in some of their former veterans but head coach Bill Belichick still has to make a decision on several free agents. Patriots fans look forward to the return of Jamie Collins. Well, this won’t go that easy.

Chris Mason from Mass Live discussed Collins’ situation with the team. According to him, Collins and a few other players may re-sign with the team if the Patriots give them great deals. Collins is an excellent player but his age may be a problem. Instead of giving him a big deal, the Patriots may give Collins a short-term deal.

“The 32-year-old Collins doesn’t check the “younger” box at linebacker, but he remains a freak athlete,” Mason wrote. “If Collins wants to play on a veteran minimum deal he could make sense to bring into training camp, but any higher price and the Patriots will likely move on.”

Patriots fans look forward to the return of the talented veteran

Collins is a valuable player, but someone like him is expected to earn $1.12 million. This is the veteran minimum and Collins may try to get more than that. In 2021, Collins signed a one-year deal with the Patriots. They gave him $1.075 million. This is a tiny deal for someone like Collins. NFL teams could pay a lot of money for an edge rusher with such an excellent experience.

The Patriots got the best of Collins and having him back would be really great. However, the team may not give Collins tons of money.

Collins knows the Patriots system really well. This may be of great help for the veteran. If the team doesn’t give him a deal, Collins won’t gave trouble finding a home somewhere else. NFL teams could use every bit of his talent.

The veteran edge rusher may be finishing his third stint with the team. He made one Pro Bowl with the team and joined the Patriots in two Super Bowl wins. In 2021, Collins saw action in 10 games. He had two starts and one interception. The veteran also had one sack with 20 total tackles.