All-Pro Safety Landon Collins Returns To The Giants
They had their differences, but the New York Giants and safety Landon Collins are back together.
Late Wednesday, CBS Sports' Josina Anderson reported that the Giants reunited with Collins after officially signing him to the team. Details of their agreement have yet to be disclosed.
Collins is expected to meet with the Giants when they arrive in London this weekend: ahead of their matchup against the Green Bay Packers.
According to reports, the Giants expect to use Collins in the linebacker role: a position he played heavily as part of Washington's roster last season.
New York traded up in the 2015 NFL Draft to nab the Alabama safety in the second round. Collins quickly became a strong asset for the Giants defense: using his speed and size for adept tackling and pressure on opposing QBs.
Former DPOY Nominee
In 2016, Collins played his way to Defensive Player of the Year talks and came close after placing third in the voting. He was seen as a hard-hitting, ball-hawking safety (with slight issues in coverage) at his peak with the Giants.
Collins finished the 2016 season with 125 tackles, five interceptions and four sacks. He ended his run with the G-Men with three Pro Bowl selections and one All-Pro tag.
The last time Collins played in London (October 23, 2016), he delivered a long pick-6 against Case Keenum's St. Louis Rams.
(Getty Images)
Collins, 28, started the 2022-23 season as a free agent after Washington severed their ties with the combo player's hefty contract on June 1.
Washington first signed Collins in 2019 to a six-year, $84 million deal.
History of Bad Blood?
After joining the NFC East rival team, Collins had a couple of public rifts with the Giants and former general manager Dave Gettleman. After all, New York decided to let him walk rather than pay top dollar to keep him.
Collins' production largely fell off when he joined Washington, with injury as the main culprit for falling off.
In 2020, Collins suffered a season-ending Achilles injury; last season, he missed considerable time with a foot injury.
With Dave Gettleman out and a new regime leading the G-Men, there should be no bad blood re-surfacing between Collins and his new team. Or at least Giants fan hope.
Signing Collins gives the Giants' fairly young defensive stars a new voice of leadership, while the player hopes to bring himself back into the spotlight as part of Wink Martindale's trending defense.
Former Giants safety Jabrill Peppers frequently jabbed at Collins when he played for Washington. Both teams met in 2019, and New York dominated Washington, 24-3 — prompting Peppers to poke fun at Collins for a failed 'revenge' game.
Collins responded to Peppers after their matchup, “He just started yapping ... If I had a good game, I’m not going to sit there and trash talk the opponent, especially a guy that’s been doing it way longer than you and better than you.”