The New England Patriots are not ones to stop looking for ways to get better even when they are already considered as among the favorites to win the Super Bowl. And as good as they have played of late, their defense still looks shaky, which could be also why they are rumored to be considering making a play on the trade front to acquire Cleveland Browns linebacker Jamie Collins.
According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, the Patriots have talked about the possibility of making another deal with Cleveland to get one of their former players back.
Article Continues BelowThe Patriots want to acquire some help in the defensive front seven by the deadline Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, and they’re kicking the tires on a familiar name. They’ve had internal discussions about trading for linebacker Jamie Collins, according to a source.
Collins entered the NFL in 2013 when he was selected in the second round (No. 52 overall) by the Patriots. Three years later, the Pats shipped him to the Browns in exchange for a 2017 third-round pick, as New England seemingly did not have any plans of dealing with him in free agency. Collins found the lucrative contract he was looking for in Cleveland with the Browns inking him to a four-year extension worth $50 million.
While the Patriots have one of the highest-scoring offensive units in the NFL, but are only 19th in scoring defense with 25.6 points surrendered per game through the first seven weeks of the season.
In seven appearances this year for Cleveland, Collins has accumulated 2.0 sacks and 44 combined tackles.