After failing to agree to terms on a contract restructure, the Commanders are expected to part ways with veteran safety Landon Collins, per the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Collins, 28, was set to account for a $16.2 million cap hit in 2022. The former All-Pro was entering the third year of a six-year, $84 million contract he signed as an unrestricted free agent in March 2019.
The cost-cutting move will save Washington around $6.6 million, giving the team some much-needed cap flexibility after it acquired Colts quarterback Carson Wentz (and his $28.3 million contract) on Wednesday. Prior to the Wentz deal, the Commanders had $33.38 million in cap space to work with.
After having a solid first season in 2019 and playing only seven games the following year due to a torn Achilles, Collins logged a bounce-back campaign in 2021 before his season ended in Week 15 due to a foot injury.
The team moved Collins to a hybrid safety/linebacker role early in the season to accommodate for a lack of depth at the position. The change ended up paying off as Collins recorded 81 tackles, two interceptions and three sacks (the most since his second season). Washington finished the season third in the NFC East with a 7—10 record.
Commanders fans eager to usher in a new era will likely wonder what could have been had Collins’s time with the club not been interrupted by injuries.
A second-round draft pick by the Giants in 2015, the Alabama product earned a first-team All-Pro selection in 2016 and three Pro Bowl selections (2016-18) while in New York.
