Jamie Collins’ trade: Forward thinking or just plain dumb?
On Monday, the Patriots traded star linebacker Jamie Collins to the Cleveland Browns just one day before the NFL trade deadline. Although the move was shocking at first glance, and maybe the second and third glances, looking at it on the fourth glance it starts to make sense.
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When thinking about past years, the Patriots have always been ahead of the curve on this one going back to Deion Branch, Richard Seymour, Lawyer Milloy, Darrelle Revis and Ty Law just to name a few. That isn’t to say those players didn’t have any success other places, but that Belichick made the right call when taking a step back and looking at it. This decision, like those, bring into question why you would trade a star linebacker during the season.
That being said let’s discuss why you would trade Jamie Collins and the contrarian point of view.
Why trade #1: The first reason is simple. Money. Jamie Collins was never going to get that big contract from the Patriots because of the gap of perception. Collins considers himself an elite player at every aspect of the linebacker position and most likely includes pass rushing on that list.
Contrasting that the Patriots do not even view him as a true three down linebacker as evidence by his not starting Sunday versus Buffalo and not playing in situations when Bills fullback Jerome Felton was on the field. When there is a difference of opinion on who the player is, there is very little chance they will bridge the gap. Because of that, the Patriots were no doubt going to lose Collins in the offseason.
Why not: Money drives most things in the league, but when your team has ample salary cap space both in the season and in the offseason, there is no sense in moving anyone in the middle of a playoff race. That argument gains even more strength when that player is one of the better players on a defense loaded with top picks (11 of the main contributors were drafted in the first three rounds; nine in the first two).
Jamie Collins was also a freak of nature and one player opposing coordinators could not be sure how to approach or what was coming. Simply put, he was a wild card. If there were differences, trading him now makes you weaker on defense and with the only goal at this point to win a championship, it’s hard to argue that this makes them better off to reach that goal.
Why trade #2: Another reason of why you would trade Collins is to collect an asset for him before he departs via free agency with both parties knowing that he will not be re-signed. This makes a lot more sense when you consider the fact Collins would most likely have fetched a compensatory third-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, two drafts before you can use that asset. However by trading him now, you most likely gain the third-round pick a year earlier (if Cleveland doesn’t receive a compensatory third-round pick in 2017, the pick becomes a 2018 Cleveland fourth-round pick) and thus are able to integrate that piece into your team a year earlier.
One other fact about that pick that was brought up by different reporters is that with the Patriots having so many free agents this coming year, they are bound to have a lot of holes and could look to free agency to fill some with that and the ample cap space they possess. The problem is by doing so that would factor into the compensatory draft pick formula and by signing other free agents, letting Jamie Collins leave would no longer yield the projected compensatory third-round pick.
Why not: Playing devil’s advocate to the above reason, in what world is a third-round pick enough to give up one of the faces of your defense, especially when that player allows you to play so many different schemes and looks? The trade would make sense if you had gotten a player back that could help this team for this year and could have even made sense if they had received a higher draft pick, but a compensatory third-round pick falls just before the fourth-round and is essentially a fourth-round pick. A fourth-round pick for a game-breaking linebacker is horrendous value and does this team no favors going forward, especially if there is an injury to Dont’a Hightower.
Final Verdict: This trade right now stings because of how fresh the wound is and how much us as fans thought of Jamie Collins because of his highlight reel plays and potential, but, in the long run, Bill Belichick’s record of getting rid of big-name players is absurdly successful as stated above. This trade is hard to gauge now because we do not know if new acquisition Kyle Van Noy and former Brown Barkevious Mingo are capable of filling in or what Belichick, Caserio and Patricia among others, see in this group of players. Until the season officially ends for the Patriots, it is hard to classify the Jamie Collins trade as a win or loss.
One thing that should be noted though is if the Patriots struggle defensively or have trouble covering any backs or tight ends, Belichick will get a lot of heat from the fans and media for this, and rightfully so. However, this trade does nothing to dispel my belief the Patriots are by far the most complete team in the NFL and are still the favorites to win the Super Bowl.
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