BEREA: Impending free-agent linebacker Jamie Collins is open to re-signing with the Browns as long as they show him the money.
The Browns traded what’s expected to be a 2017 third-round compensatory draft pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for Collins on Oct. 31. But the 2015 Pro Bowl selection who has a Super Bowl ring would be nothing more than an eight-game rental if the Browns were to let him get away in free agency.
As the Browns (1-14) prepared for Sunday’s season finale at the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5), Collins was asked Friday if the team’s dismal record deters him from wanting to return.
“It does, but at the same time, money comes into play around that time,” Collins said. “If the money is right, then I could stay here. Obviously, I’m not going to turn it down.”
Spotrac.com projects Collins’ market value at nearly $11 million a year.
The Browns will certainly have enough salary-cap space to entice Collins, who’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent March 9. They lead the NFL with $49.4 million in cap space, according to the NFL Players Association, and the amount will increase in the offseason. Collins said he has no complaints about his time with the Browns other than their win-loss record. He also insisted he isn’t dead set on joining a contender and wouldn’t mind spending his future with a rebuilding team.
“I have no doubt about me staying here if that was the case,” Collins said. “I would like to be here. But it’s not just me wanting to be here.”
Well, the Browns want Collins to stay. If the two sides can’t agree to a long-term contract, the team could keep him off the open market by placing its franchise tag on him. The tag would allow the Browns to secure Collins for another season at a projected cost of $15 million.
“He has been really good,” coach Hue Jackson said. “He is a dependable player. He is accountable. He is always there. We have asked a lot of him. We have played him [at inside and outside linebacker]. He has taken all of that on and hasn’t blinked.
“You go back to when he first got here and just the whole dynamic of that, how it happened, he has never ever blinked as far as that is concerned. That is a tribute to him. He came in here, fit in with his teammates and started playing. I have a lot of respect for him. Hopefully, as I said earlier, we can keep him around here.”
Jackson said he thinks Collins enjoys being with the Browns.
Collins said money isn’t his top priority and also listed the people within the organization and his family — he has a girlfriend and a 2-year-old son — as factors he’d consider.
Collins, 27, explained he has connected with his teammates and likes a lot of them.
“We’re real close, man,” he said. “That’s the thing with me. I get real tight with people. If I like you, then I like you, we’ll go a long way. If not, then it’s dead.”
Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden has repeatedly lobbied for the Browns to retain Collins.
“You could tell when he came out there, he’s one of the best players on our defense as soon as he steps out on the field,” Haden said. “You could tell that by just the way he moves, the way he understands football, the way he plays so physical and is able to shed blocks and get people off of him.
“It’s just something that we definitely, definitely need on our defense. If we want to be a dominant defense, we have to have players like him that can beat the man in front of him and that can win their one-on-ones way more than they’re going to lose.”
In seven games with the Browns, Collins has 59 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.
“Obviously, the more pieces we get, the more things we will do with him and move him around and be the centerpiece of a defense that is going to be very dynamic because he allows you to do some things that are not traditional in defense,” defensive coordinator Ray Horton said. “I am really excited about what he can do.”
Collins believes the Browns could build the defense around him and reverse their fortunes.
“We’ve got all the talent in the world,” he said. “Things just didn’t go as planned. Like I said, I can’t complain. You’ve just got to use it as a stepping stone. You just grow.”
If the Browns have it their way, Collins will be vital to their growth.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.