Jamie Collins is staying in Cleveland.
The Browns announced Monday that they had agreed to a four-year contract extension with the linebacker, whom NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported received $50 million, $26 million of which is guaranteed.
The contract’s reported annual value of $12.5 million is fourth-highest among NFL linebackers, only behind the Denver Broncos’ Von Miller ($19.08 million), the Kansas City Chiefs’ Justin Houston ($16.83 million) and the Green Bay Packers’ Clay Matthews ($13.2 million).
Browns executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown said in a team-issued statement that he views Collins as of the team’s defense for years to come.
“Jamie has shown throughout his NFL career that he is a very talented player with a rare skill set that allows him to impact games in a number of ways,” Brown said. “He’s a versatile, smart, competitive and physical football player who has experienced winning at the highest level. Jamie was great to have in our building this season, and we look forward to him being a Cleveland Brown for a number of years to come. We are counting on him to be a big part of us becoming a winning team.”
Cleveland acquired Collins via an Oct. 31 trade with the New England Patriots for a conditional 2017 third-round draft pick — a move that Brown said was made with long-term interest in mind.
“We are going to be aggressive about acquiring talent, and when we had the opportunity to trade for Jamie back in October, it was done with the intent of him becoming a long-term part of our defense,” he said.
Collins will return to a team that won only one game this season, while the Patriots will play in their seventh Super Bowl in the last 15 years on Feb. 5 in Houston.
Thumbnail photo via Scott R. Galvin/USA TODAY Sports Images
