Landon Collins' days rising from the Giants practice squad appear to be over. The team will sign the eighth-year hybrid defender to its active roster ahead of its Week 16 game against the Vikings, Brian Daboll said.
The Giants have used Collins sparingly in three games this season, but they have been activating him via the gameday elevation route. This latest transaction will keep Collins on Big Blue’s 53-man roster. Although the team has effectively swapped in Collins for Tae Crowder, whom it waived Tuesday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter) the displaced linebacker is back on New York’s practice squad. Crowder, a 17-game starter who made 130 tackles last season before being benched this year, cleared waivers Wednesday.
After spending the past three seasons in Washington, Collins became a cap casualty this year. The Commanders were believed to have wanted Collins to take a pay cut, but the former Pro Bowl safety said (via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy) the team never gave him a number regarding this trim.
“Injuries set me back over there,” Collins said. “I get the process. I wasn’t producing anything. When I was on the field, I tried to produce as much as I can. They wanted a pay cut, but they never gave me numbers on what it would be, so I was like, ‘I don’t have time to keep playing around. I need to figure out what’s going on.'”
Collins’ then-safety-record $14M-per-year deal did not work out for Washington, and not much interest came his way this offseason. The Giants, who did not make an offer to keep the three-time Pro Bowler off the free-agent market in 2019, brought him back in October. Collins, 28, has played in three games and made just four tackles, but he logged a season-high 27 defensive snaps against his previous team Sunday. Now stationed at linebacker, he should have a regular role going forward, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweets.
Additionally, the Giants will still be without cornerback Adoree’ Jackson in Week 16. The team’s top corner has been on the shelf since November because of an MCL sprain. He remains on the active roster but will have missed five games after Saturday’s Minnesota tilt.
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