By WFAN.com
Last month, Giants general manager Dave Gettleman said he had cured the Giants of their culture problem.
That was news to Landon Collins, who told WFAN's "Boomer and Gio" show Friday that he never witnessed such a problem in the Giants' locker room.
"I don't know what was a problem or which culture problem he was talking about honestly," said the All-Pro safety, who left the Giants for the Redskins in free agency this offseason. "He didn't make that clear to either one of us (him or Odell Beckham Jr.), and then secondly, he wasn't even in the locker room to be able to tell what the culture was. So to say those comments, it was kind of a smack in all our faces that he let go."
The Giants' roster has changed dramatically this offseason. In addition to letting Collins walk, Gettleman traded the team's sacks leader, Olivier Vernon, to Cleveland. Those moves came on the heels of the Giants trading away defensive tackle Damon Harrison and cornerback Eli Apple last season and releasing offensive tackle Ereck Flowers.
But, of course, the biggest departure was the trade that sent Beckham, the team's superstar wide receiver, to the Browns.
Collins said he was not surprised by the move.
"Like you said, Gettleman was talking about the culture change," said Collins, who was promoting his charity softball game, June 8 in Pomona. "I thought that was the only person he was talking about until he started getting rid of all of us. But it wasn't a shocker to me. I knew it was going to happen because they just thought Odell was a problem."
But Collins said Beckham was "never a problem."
"He was a brother. He was a great teammate," the three-time Pro Bowl safety said. "He went out there, regardless of the fact that Dave was mad at him or somebody said this, he went out there and practiced hard each and every day. He went out to the games, and y'all saw what he did when he had the ball in his hand regardless of the fact that they thought he was a problem."
Collins said he hoped to remain with the Giants long-term but knew his time with the franchise was coming to an end when he was rehabbing a shoulder injury for two months at the team's facility and Gettleman and coach Pat Shurmur never broached the subject of his future with him.
"My thoughts on what happened is basically it's a business," he said. "Yeah, I'm definitely heartbroken by not finishing as a Giant."
Collins, 25, ended up signing a six-year, $84 million contract with Washington as soon as free agency began.
"I think once I got the call from the Redskins talking about they was going to sign me and pick me up, I think all bad feelings towards the Giants kind of went out the window 'cause it gave me an opportunity to start a new career, start a new chapter in my life and be a part of something special," he said.
Despite jettisoning so many key veterans, Gettleman has stopped short of saying the Giants are in a rebuild. Collins disagrees.
"They're going to be a few years before they make their run," he said. "They've got to build up, so they're putting pieces together. And they're kind of just starting all over. Starting fresh with guys they believe are better than the guys they had there."
Meanwhile, 38-year-old quarterback Eli Manning remains. Collins believes the two-time Super Bowl MVP can still be effective.
"I think Eli's a stand-up guy," he said. "He's the face of the Giants, always. And it's hard to get rid of a two-time Super Bowl champion and MVP at the same time. So from that standpoint, he knows the game too well. And the thing is he showcases when he has the time that he needs in the pocket to be that quarterback that everybody dreamed of and always remembers."
To listen to the interview, click on the audio player above.
