The New England Patriots are adding a familiar face to the mix as they close out the first quarter of the regular season.

Jamie Collins is expected to sign a deal with New England, ESPN's Mike Reiss reported Monday. It isn't known if the Patriots will sign him to the active roster or if he'll be added to the practice squad, Reiss added.

This will mark Collins' fourth stint with the Patriots, who drafted him in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Collins, 32, had a strong first tenure with the Patriots, recording 115 tackles in New England's Super Bowl-winning season in 2014 and was a second-team All-Pro when he had 89 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 2015.

Collins was traded from New England to Cleveland in the middle of the 2016 season. He returned to the Patriots as a free agent in 2019. Collins recorded 89 tackles and a career-high seven sacks that season, which earned him a three-year, $30 million deal from the Lions in 2020. However, Detroit released Collins in the first month of the 2021 season. Collins re-joined the Patriots again shortly after and had 20 tackles and a sack over 10 games.

The Patriots' decision to add Collins again comes as their decision to play unproven linebackers hasn't paid off to start the season. In their 27-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, the Patriots gave up 183 rushing yards to running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. A week earlier, the Patriots gave up 188 rushing yards to the Baltimore Ravens, with Lamar Jackson scrambling for 107 of them.

If the Patriots decide to place Collins on their practice squad, he wouldn't be the first former Patriot to rejoin the team on the practice squad this season. New England re-signed offensive tackle Marcus Cannon to its practice squad ahead of Week 1 and promoted him to the active roster for Sunday's Week 4 matchup against Green Bay.