Washington to release (or trade?) Landon Collins
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sources: The Washington <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Commanders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Commanders</a> are expected to release star defender Landon Collins after the two sides did not agree on a restructured contract. Collins will now hit free agency to cash in again.</p>&mdash; Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1501952769187405830?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

the obligatory bring him in for a look post

This would be an excellent Sorenson replacement

Will he be Landon here maybe?

Hasn't really been a good player since 2017. That's a loooooong ways in the rearview in the NFL.

I mean he might be worth $3 million as a rotational safety in a heavy nickel set and depth piece in the case of injury (as noted above, a Sorenson replacement) but I'm not sure I'm too eager to allocate that kind of money to that role.

I'd probably be good at $2.5 million and would ultimately accept $3 million, but he's not worth more than that, IMO. He's just not a starting caliber safety at this stage of his career.

28 years old with an achilles injury in his recent past? No thanks, unless he's dirt cheap.

Depends on if Veach is Collin him!

Overrated.

I'd be interested in a low-dollar deal as a box safety or some sort of hybrid-LB role. His best safety days are well behind him.

He is.

But that doesn't mean he couldn't help at the right price.

He's not the All Pro guy who appeared to be in 2016. Or the Pro Bowl guy he was in 2017. Or even the adequate starter he was in 2018.

But he's an NFL player still. So depending on the cost, I'd listen. Spags got some good run out of him and that's a worthwhile consideration.

I bet YOU would be a good Sorenson replacement

Considering his recent play, current pay, and the depth of the S market in FA, I can't see them finding a willing trade partner. That would require someone wanting to pick up whatever big money he has left on that huge deal.

I wouldn't mind exploring him as a big nickel/Sorenson replacement if cheap, though, like a lot of folks.

A trade is pretty much nonexistent at this point. His contract is huge.

He’s basically a LB now. Too much $ for what he brings…

Yup his pay days are over. He’ll get cut and I’d like to get him on a fair deal. He’s only 28 and is still good.

Need to get good value players to fill this defense.

more than likely hes the badger replacement. He plays in the box, thornhill deep and sneed still mans the slot.

I’ve heard of him. LFG!!!

Mathieu wasn't JUST a box safety.

LOL - let's get the thread up and running fellas. you know the drill - in 69,420 posts he'll be ours!!

I'm well aware, but theres only a few guys out there capable of doing everything he does. If you get collins for "the right price" I'd see him taking the box role, Thornhill deep and draft a dan replacement.

Spotted at a Sleep Number Bed store in Lenexa

Whole lottta box talk in here without pics

I think you’re better off making Collins the Sorensen replacement and finding a safety for the back end that can alternate with Thornhill.

My thoughts as well.

billay will send photos of his fart box

No thanks

If we can get both landon to play close to the ball and another deep safety for a price lower than what mathieu demands, would it be worth it?

I remember having a giant hard-on for Landon Collins in 2018 and him being the one guy I really wanted us to nab in FA. Pretty sure a lot of this board was all over him as well. Another good reminder that armchair GM-ing is pretty easy to do.

Yep, that's the scary thing about replacing Mathieu. We might get a Collins, or Earl Thomas, or Jamal Adams.

I dont disagree, but thats and expensive "3rd safety". But i guess they tried to roll with just HB and Dan to start the season. After watching a versatile guy like badger, its hard to replace him, but makes sense to move on. It may take multiple guys like collins. I havent watched collins lately but i now he was pretty good before washington, and would have been like a better sorenson. If he still offers something a long those lines id give a long hard look.

He’s horrible in coverage now. His grade was way worse than Sorensens in coverage.
…not sure how he accomplished that, but he did.

If all we want him to do is blitz and defend the run, he’s still very good in that role.

If the Washington Redsk er I mean Commanders can't reach agreement on restructuring his contract. He won't be dirt cheap.

Unless he just saw an obvious path to getting out of town.

If he just flat didn't want to be there anymore, he's made $50 million in his NFL career. Just getting out of Dodge and potentially re-setting himself for one last contract in 2023 would be more attractive than languishing in Washington for $6 million. Especially if he can still go out and get $2-3 million elsewhere.

Refusing to renegotiate an obviously out of market deal is really just a way for a player to force his way off the team.

Watching Mathieu over the 2nd half, we could've just as easily retained Mathieu and ended up with a Collins, Thomas or Adams...

He's trending the wrong direction, IMO.

I pass on Collins.

Man, we could use him, but he's going to demand a hefty contract that we shouldn't pay him even if we had the cap space for it.

Which we don't.

No he won't.

He might get a 2-year deal that gives him say an $8 million signing bonus and $2 million in base this year (and some make-believe figure that nobody cares about next year) so he carries a $6 million cap hit in 2022 but gets $10 million in cash and hits the market in 2023 off hopefully a better platform season - but I'm betting that's at the absolute high side of the range.

I wouldn't be surprised to be a similar structure but at a $7 million signing bonus with a 2022 base salary of $1 million so he's got a cap hit below $5 million, sees 8 and goes to the market next year.

etc.

It’s quite interesting, too. The things Sorensen did the last couple years for our defense are the things Collins excels at.

He’s an amazing blitzed and run defender.

I agree that if he comes in at that range, I’d be a buyer….just like Dan…NEVER have him in coverage, especially deep.

You can have him in underneath coverage as a 3rd safety on the field - again, where Sorensen was valuable.

You just can't have the guy out there in single high.

I think there may be some belief here that people are advocating for Collins as a pure SS w/ Thornhill as a FS - I'm not. I don't believe in the distinction anymore. Both of your safeties need to be interchangeable in that they're both capable of covering and willing (if not exceptional) tacklers.

I simply put very little value in SSs anymore. Where that kind of player IS valuable is in heavy nickel formations on 1st and 2nd downs. In a 4-2-5 sort of alignment, Landon Collins could still be very valuable and very useful to this team.

That’s where Washington used him wrong, imo.

He gave up over 70% completions and gave up 8tds…but that was covering medium to deep zones and that’s not his effective area.

If we can limit his coverage responsibilities to TEs and backs, he can do that. He’s not a slot covering safety like Tyrann excelled at prior to this year.

If Spags thinks he can utilize him in Sorensens old role, it’s a definite upgrade in that specified role.

I think Spags coached him in Nay in his best years, too.

Much rather have sorenson.

The ****?

Spags was the NY DC from 2015-2017…in those years, Collins made 2 pro bowls and was first team all pro in 2016.

So, Spags knows how to use him if we sign him.

That was also 5-7 years ago. It’s not to say he couldn’t be used correctly but he was younger and pre-injury at that point.

If "struggles in coverage" is said for a secondary player, I am out as far as you can get on said player.

But as a 3rd safety he's as much a Will Linebacker as he is a 'secondary player'.

He's about the same size/build as Nakobe Dean.

Spags defense wouldn’t use him as a deep safety covering WRs, though.

His third safety is a box guy doing the things Collins is ELITE at.

How many times did they get Sorenson singled up on a TE or Wr while doing that?

No thanks. Pass.

If he's 2021 Sorensen, sure.

2016 Sorensen was damn effective against TEs 'while doing that'.

And if you let him on the field w/ a 4 wide formation out there, it's your own damn fault as a DC for not paying attention to who's in the huddle.

Yes, you can avoid that sort of thing. You can't have your 3rd safety just another CB. If that's what you're doing, you're just running a Dime. Your 3rd safety has to be a more physical, versatile DB.

And you're only willing to do that if the guy can ALSO hang with WRs if single covered? Then you're just saying we should never send 3 safeties out there and scrap the heavy nickel in favor of a dime.

I mean...okay. That's an option. It's just not one I'd pursue.

And Sorensen was RARELY put in that blender when he was in the heavy nickel role. His embarrassing moments early in the year came exclusively when he was starting over Thornhill and...<sigh> playing single high for some bizarre damn reason.

I just feel like you're clouding the roles here.

I'm just of the opinion that you can't be so subpackage dependent anymore. Teams catch you in it and just kill you.

I dont' know that answer, but I'm weary of safeties that struggle in coverage.

What about Linebackers that are awesome at it for the position?

You can't be sub-package dependent if your STARTERS depend on your sub-package bringing better players on the field. That's where we were getting murdered early in the year. We were getting trapped in our base defense and couldn't get a sub out to rescue Sorensen.

But if your starters are credible and you can deploy your sub-packages situationally, that's absolutely a good situation to find yourself in.

That's my preference. I'd rather have a credible "LB'er" at that spot. Maybe that can be collins.

That's your 'subpackage'.

You rotate your 3rd LBer and 3rd safety.

When it's a clear run situation, you bring out a heavy backer to play the Sam, move Bolton to Mike and Gay to Will.

If it's clear pass, you go into a Dime and you have 4 CBs w/ 2 Ss

But when you're in that mushy middle, especially on early downs between the 20s, you put Gay at the Sam, Bolton at the Mike and at your Will you have a guy who is strong in run support, capable of blitzing and viable in coverage (again, for a LBer).

And yeah, I just don't see why Collins can't be exactly that guy.

Don't think of him being utilized as a safety - that's really not how we'd be using him. He'd be effectively a hybrid Will 'backer.

With guys being released before actual FA starts would you be in favor of the chiefs playing the compensatory pick game and mostly focus on players who have been cut (Trey Flowers, Collins, Bobby Wagner, Jordan Hicks, Tavon Young, maybe a Zadarius Smith or Cole Beasley if released) instead of going after any mid-tier or top-tier unrestricted FA's?

Doing so would probably net us a couple of decent comp picks next year by losing Matthieu and probably Ward. I would guess they would net 4th round comp picks to us next draft.

Collins would be a large, large upgrade over Dirty Dan Sorensen. That's his role. Not Thornhill's, not Honey Badger's.

I'm not convinced this is the way they should go cap-wise, but Collins is real good at that role.

Yes he is!

His value is way down too, we might be pleasantly surprised by the offers he gets. Having Spags should give us a slight advanatge.

Covering RBs out of the backfield has burned us for years, TEs too. I like this idea at the right price.

They'll keep Ward. They have to because he's too good to let go. No way he leaves.

I think there's several guys on the roster currently who the Chiefs view as the next Sorenson

San Diego will, at worst, price enforce the shit out of him. They’ll make sure we don’t get him back cheap and they have the cap space to go ahead and sign him if he bites.

REALLY would’ve been nice to get a deal done there a year ago.

He bet on himself over the quick buck.

And he won because I think he’s going to get a really nice deal. Won’t be surprised if he gets 10-15m per.

I’d say more in the $13-$16 million range with the high number being more likely.

That's alot of coin for a guy who's going to get his ass burnt by Reek. Would love to have him back but 16 mil go get Gladney and keep it moving

I bring up this aspect in almost every FA thread. We are likely losing most, if not all, of these guys.

Ward
Tyrann
Nnadi
Reed
Ingram
Wylie
Pringle

We could get a nice haul if we just sign vets that were released to replace guys we’re losing.

Maybe another third and a couple 4ths and 5ths, or something along those lines in terms of comp picks in 2023. It can work for us very advantageously.

I have changed my mind i want La'el collins instead. Go get gladney too. Thants Brad Peach.