Maybe a few years ago, someone like Jamie Collins would’ve felt compelled to be at his team’s offseason program. He’s 31, will turn 32 during the 2021 season, is making $9 million this year coming off a 5–11 campaign and is working with a new coach and GM.
But things across the NFL are changing. And they’re changing fast. So Collins, expecting the birth of his second son in the coming days, isn’t in Detroit right now. Instead, he’s in Charlotte, staying close to his girlfriend, so he can be there when the baby comes and be around for the start of the kid’s life.
Which, by the way, does mean he isn’t getting his work in.
He’s on the phone and Zoom calls on a daily basis with his coaches, and even if he hasn’t met his new head coach (Dan Campbell) or defensive coordinator (Aaron Glenn) in person yet, he’s worked to build relationships with those guys and the rest of the staff. He’s also in meetings, if from the other side of a laptop, and he’s watched every practice that the Lions have run during the OTA portion of their offseason program.
“We talk all the time,” Collins said, over the phone on Wednesday afternoon. “That’s the thing, we just have to put a face with a name now. Being virtual, it’s FaceTime, it’s on the phone, we haven’t been face-to-face yet. And that’s why I’m so excited to get there, meet the guys, have a conversation with them.
“I’m eager to put a face with a name and get this thing rolling in Detroit. It’s past due, we’re due for a great season this year.”
Collins’s story isn’t an unusual one in the NFL this spring.
More than ever before, veteran players across the league are testing just how this portion of the offseason really is. Some, like Collins, have personal reasons for staying away from team facilities. Others feel like, professionally, it’s what’s best for them. And it’s an interesting development through an offseason where players have realized their power maybe more so than ever before.
In Detroit, Campbell, a Bill Parcells disciple, and his staff are working together with players through this new landscape brought about by things learned through the pandemic.
And the next step to it comes with training camp, which has provided another battleground for the players and the league.
