Jamie Collins Announces Retirement After 10 Seasons; Won 2 Super Bowls with Patriots

Former New England Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins announced his retirement Friday after 10 NFL seasons.

According to ESPN's Mike Reiss, Collins called his NFL career, which yielded two Super Bowl rings and one Pro Bowl selection, "the ultimate dream come true."

Collins spent parts of seven of his 10 NFL seasons with the Pats, and also enjoyed stints with the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions.

New England originally selected Collins in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft out of Southern Mississippi, and he established himself as a starter midway through his rookie season.

After winning his first Super Bowl in 2014, Collins enjoyed his best individual season in 2015 when he 89 tackles, 5.5 sacks, six passes defended, one interception and a league-leading five forced fumbles.

The Pats traded Collins to Cleveland during the 2016 season, but after he largely failed to replicate the success he had in New England during his parts of three seasons with the Browns, Collins re-signed with the Patriots prior to the 2019 season.

Collins went on to post a career-high seven sacks and three interceptions in 2019, allowing him to sign a three-year contract with the Lions.

In Detroit, Collins joined former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who was the Lions head coach, but the combination didn't thrive like it did in New England.

After appearing in 16 games with the Lions over two seasons, Collins was released and he went back to the Pats for a third stint.

Collins played in 10 games of the Patriots in 2021, and last season he appeared in three games for the team, starting one of them.

Last season, Collins spent much of his time on New England's practice squad, and when his contract expired at the end of the season, he went unsigned leading up to the 2023 campaign.

Overall, Collins appeared in 125 regular-season games during his career and racked up 708 tackles, 26.5 sacks, 12 interceptions, 64 tackles for loss, 39 passes defended and 19 forced fumbles.

The 33-year-old from McCall Creek, Mississippi, also played in nine playoff games and had 55 tackles, three sacks and two picks.