While Tom E. Curran admitted he was “stunned” by the Patriots’ trade of Jamie Collins to the Browns for a third-round pick, he and Mike Giardi said Monday that Collins wasn’t a longterm fit for the Pats due to his play and his contract demands.
Curran noted that the Patriots felt motivated to move away from a player commanding $50 million-plus guaranteed despite not performing at that level. Giardi added that some of Collins’ camp’s comps might have been unrealistic.
“When they had their initial conversations, he was talking Olivier Vernon money, that was $53 million guaranteed from the Giants this past offseason,” Giardi said. “Adam Schefter reported Von Miller money was what he was asking for, and let’s face it: There was no way Jamie Collins was going to get that from the Patriots.”
Equally as concerning as the ask was Collins’ performance on the field. Following the trade, former Pats coaching staff assistant Mike Lombardi said that Collins was prone to do “whatever he wants,” which ultimately hurt the Pats. Curran said he agreed with the assessment, pointing to Owen Daniels’ performance against him in last season’s AFC Championship.
“For me, I’ve been saying really since the AFC Championship game that Jamie Collins is doing things that don’t help the team win too often,” Curran said. “He makes the flash play, but he’s a .240 hitter with 40 home runs, but he also going to have bad plate discipline, he’s going to swing and miss and he’s going to do fundamental things you don’t want.”