Did the New England Patriots trade Pro Bowl linebacker Jamie Collins to the Cleveland Browns, in particular, to send a message? Stephen A. Smith thinks that could be the case.
The Patriots acquired a compensatory third-round draft pick in Monday’s deal, which surprised a lot of people. The return seems like a cheap price to pay for Collins, a former second-round pick who’s played like a first-round selection at times, so Smith couldn’t help but wonder on Tuesday’s episode of ESPN’s “First Take” whether the Patriots deliberately traded him to the 0-8 Browns — rather than another NFL team willing to pony up a similar package — out of spite.
“I have no problem with moving him. It’s the business. I get that,” Smith said. “But there’s something that stinks about this, fellas, ladies, when you go from the favorite arguably to win the Super Bowl championship to a winless team. Don’t tell me that the Cleveland Browns were the only dudes out there you could’ve gotten a third-round compensatory pick from for Jamie Collins. Don’t give me that. I don’t believe it for one second. I’m saying there was somebody out there that was willing to give that. I don’t believe for one second that that was not the case.
“You wanted to send a message and I think that’s jacked up, because these guys out here put their bodies on the line, put their health on the line, go out there and perform and then want what market value is. You don’t want to give it to them, I respect that, no problem. You want to move them because of it, I respect that, no problem. But when you go from … the great coach, the great quarterback, the future Hall of Famers, four-time Super Bowl champions, been to six Super Bowls, OK, and you trade them to the winless Cleveland Browns, that’s low, man.”
A popular theory has been that the Patriots traded Collins, who’s set to become a free agent after this season, because his contractual demands were too high and the team thus wasn’t going to re-sign him. It’s a theory that has been contested by former Patriots assistant Michael Lombardi, who thinks the organization simply made a “football decision” based on Collins’ play this season. But no matter who or what you believe, it’s hard to dispute that Collins ended up in a far less desirable situation.
And that’s cold-blooded, according to at least one polarizing pundit.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
