When the Washington Commanders signed safety Landon Collins to a then-record six-year, $84 million contract in 2019, many around the NFL said Washington would end up regretting that deal.
Before Collins ever hit free agency in 2019, some predicted Washington owner Dan Snyder would make a play for Collins because of the safety’s love of Washington legend Sean Taylor. So, it was no surprise when the Commanders locked up Collins early in that free-agency period.
On Thursday, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that Washington was expected to release Collins after the two sides couldn’t agree to a restructured deal.
Collins told Josina Anderson of USA TODAY and CBS Sports that the two sides did agree to a deal, but after Washington traded for quarterback Carson Wentz, the Commanders wanted to come back to the table. Collins said no thanks.
Landon Collins is expected to be released from the Commanders
His response via @JosinaAnderson 👀 pic.twitter.com/Mme3gTaB9h
— PFF (@PFF) March 10, 2022
Now that it appears Collins’ time in Washington is done let’s look back at that contract. Per Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, Collins earned a cool $44.7 million for three seasons in D.C.
Final total for Washington on Collins was about $44.7M for 3 years. Final numbers were 35 games, 239 tackles (153 solo), and 3 ints.
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) March 10, 2022
It wasn’t until his third season in 2021 when Collins made an impact. He moved to a hybrid linebacker role and thrived before a late-season injury. No team is signing Collins to be a deep safety, so it will be interesting to see where he ends up.
Washington wanted Collins back, but it sounded like with the trade for Wentz that was off the table.
