FOXBOROUGH — Not many players can say they’ve had three different stints with one team, but that’s what Jamie Collins is about to embark on with the Patriots.
Collins was brought back by the Patriots officially on Wednesday after being released by the Lions a few weeks ago. The linebacker was drafted in the second round by the team in 2013, played in New England until he was traded to the Browns in 2016, returned for 2019 and now is back after one year and two games in Detroit.
The soon-to-be 32-year-old is very popular with his former teammates and they are looking forward to having him back.
Here’s what they said Wednesday.
Devin McCourty: “It’s fun, man. As soon as he got in here, (he was) cracking jokes and getting it going. (He’s) obviously a guy that’s played here and played at an extremely high level throughout his career, so having him back here is going to be great. I think he brings great energy and a presence in the locker room just by how he is. I think the cast of characters and combination between him and Matthew Judon should be exciting day in and day out. So I’m looking forward to it.”
Brandon Bolden: “It’s like I lost one friend and I got another one back. It’s been great. We missed (Collins) to death. We definitely stayed in touch. We always stayed in touch. Jamie’s been like a little brother to me. Great to have him back, and we’ll see how that goes.”
Josh Uche: “Just watching him on film when I first got here, just seeing how athletic he is, how explosive he is. (I was) just kind of trying to take some things from his game and put it into my game. The things I saw on film from last year, from studying the Pats — definitely some great things I saw. … Just versatility, being athletic, speed and stuff like that. That’s kind of the trend with Patriots linebackers.”
