Bedard: Business-minded Jamie Collins still very much an enigma in 2nd tour of Patriots duty

FOXBOROUGH — On the Patriots' practice field this offseason, it looked like Jamie Collins never left.

Wearing No. 8 instead of his customary 91, Collins was running, jumping and just creating havoc to the point that Tom Brady said he had forgotten what it was like to go against his former teammate and the problems he can present. Yes, Collins, when he's on his game, can affect the best of NFL players.

And Collins did look like he was in his prime during practices in May and June. It was almost as if the 2016 in-season trade to the Browns, and two more seasons in Cleveland, never happened. If you were making a list of Patriots standouts during offseason practices, Collins would definitely be on the short list.

The mind wandered with thoughts of the different spots Collins could play in the Patriots' attacking amoeba defense. He certainly has the potential to be a tantalizing weapon in the scheme and help take the Patriots' defense, which was the heart of the team by the end of the season and keyed the Super Bowl victory over the Rams, to another level.

But then you remembered how it ended for Collins in New England the first time around and forced his trade to the Siberia of the NFL. There were the rumors about Collins freelancing in the scheme, his looming huge payday and, finally, how the Patriots went on to win two more Super Bowls without him — including that very season of the trade.

And then you heard him speak with the media and the words he used. This is not the same Collins that grew up with the Patriots and then was exiled. He's no longer the wet-behind-ears and, frankly, naive young man who arrived in New England from tiny McCall Creek, Miss. No, Collins now has a wife and child. He speaks about the business associated with the NFL — a lot. And it makes you wonder if this second tour of duty will end better than the first.

Collins spoke with the media on May 23rd for about four minutes. During that time he used the word "business" 14 times. He mentioned "job" six times. "Paid" was tossed in twice. That's 22 mentions total, or once every 10.9 seconds.

"Another day on the job, man. Just doing what I get paid to do and do it to the best of my ability...

"It’s all business. You have to do your job and handle your business. We have a job. Be a professional and then handle our business...

"It’s a business. It’s my job. It’s what I get paid to do, I’m going to adjust and do what I have to to do..."


No, we're not in rural Mississippi anymore.

"Guys change but it’s football at the end of the day. And it’s business," Collins said. "I’m going to come in here and handle my business just like anywhere else I would go, no matter if it’s football, basketball, track, one of you guys ... business is business."

It's obvious that Collins' attitude toward his job has changed greatly since his first stint with the Patriots, which saw him taken 52nd overall in the 2013 draft. That's bound to happen when you're entering the league at age 23. Collins will be 30 in October this year.

The question remains: Will that be good or bad for the Patriots?

In many ways, you would expect this to be a positive experience. That's the way it has largely worked in the past. The Patriots bring in a player who has been underutilized or just not used properly elsewhere, he stays for one standout season and then cashes in with another team. For every Albert Haynesworth or Chad Ochocinco that couldn't conform to the Patriot Way and effectively ended their careers here, there are many more who have flourished and struck it rich: Trent Brown, Dion Lewis, Cordarrelle Patterson, Akiem Hicks, Darrelle Revis, Aqib Talib and Jabaal Sheard.

Collins, at his age, might not turn a successful stint with the Patriots into another four-year, $50-million contract like he got from the Browns, but with another three to four years left in his prime, Collins could make a Revis-esque shrewd business move with the Patriots or another franchise after this season.

And that has to be on Collins' mind as he mentions his family, the business, the job and getting paid.

But with that singular mindset — and it's obvious that's where his focus is now — there is the potential for it to go the other way, similar to his first go-round with the Patriots.

After a solid rookie season, Collins was sensational in 2014 and '15. He received All-Pro votes in '14, was second-team All-Pro in '15 and a Pro Bowl selection.

But in 2016, Collins' final season before becoming an unrestricted free agent, his play declined. He was wildly inconsistent and struggled against the run, when he was asked to read and react instead of attacking. You began to wonder if he was seeing dollar signs flash in front of his eyes as he was being given more grunt work to do, and started to take more risks. And after Collins was traded to Cleveland, Mike Lombardi, who was a member of the Patriots' personnel department in '14 and '15, said with Collins "sometimes freelancing is a problem, and I think sometimes effort is a problem."



Now the Patriots are virtually in the same spot with Collins, with the linebacker in a contract year with free agency awaiting him in the offseason. If Collins doesn't like his role, if he doesn't think he's being highlighted enough or put in a position to put up stats like sacks, QB pressures and interceptions — which usually get players paid — will Collins start to backslide again? If he does, will he be shipped out again or released? There's certainly no downside on a one-year deal.

"It’s just a change of destination," Collins said. "Like I said, I’m a professional and I’ve just got to be professional about the business. Business is business. You can’t get upset, do this, do that, I just try to pick up where I left off and move on to the next step no matter where it’s at.

"I'm here to do my job, never stop, put my head down, don’t ever stop. Like I said, it’s a business, I can’t fold, I can’t give up, because it’s not just about me. I can’t give up, I have to keep pushing."

Collins is older, wiser and more mature as he returns to the Patriots three years after he was shipped out. On the field, he looks to be a similar player, one who can make the Patriots better.

But can Collins handle his business better this time around?