Jamie Collins Comments on Being Traded to Browns, Contract, Patriots and More

New Cleveland Browns linebacker Jamie Collins spoke to the Cleveland media Wednesday morning about being traded to the team, the New England Patriots, his pending free agency and more. 

"This is my new home," Collins said when asked about signing a long-term deal with the Browns, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. "This is my focus. I'm ready."

Nonetheless, Collins wouldn't commit to signing a long-term deal with Cleveland:

He also maintained that he never asked for "Von Miller money"—which Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Monday—in contract negotiations with the Patriots.

"I'm not Von Miller," he said, per Cabot. "Let's be smart."

Additionally, he said the Patriots never offered him a contract worth $11 million annually, which had been rumored. Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald offered some clarity on that front, however:

Finally, Collins discussed leaving a Super Bowl contender and compared the Browns with the Patriots:

One the same day that Collins was speaking about his new home, his former coach, Bill Belichick, also spoke about the team's decision to move on from the linebacker.

"It's a bottom-line decision," Belichick said, per Howe. "That's what it was. I'm not going to talk about the 500 things that could be talked about relative to it. It's too long, too cumbersome of a conversation."

With Collins in the final year of his contract, there seems to be little doubt New England moved Collins for financial reasons, especially with Dont'a Hightower and Elandon Roberts available at linebacker. With Hightower and Malcolm Butler both set to hit free agency, the Patriots likely didn't feel they would have been able to retain all three players.

Cleveland, then, nabbed a player who has accumulated 43 tackles, two interceptions, a sack and a forced fumble this year. Coming into the 2016 season, Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus ranked Collins as the 31st-best player in the NFL, and Collins, on paper, has largely been productive to date.

Michael Lombardi of Fox Sports had a different perspective on that, though:

Regardless of the reason for the deal, Collins is now a member of the Browns and one of the best players on their defense, if not the best. The Browns have the cap space to lock him up on a long-term deal as well, so Collins' stay in Cleveland could be an extended one.

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