Lost perhaps in the shuffle surrounding the appearance of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. at the New York Giants facility on Monday as well as the assimilation of a new head coach, the return of safety Landon Collins to health is perhaps one of the best news of the offseason to date.
Collins was banged up for much of last year, an injury that severely limited one of the game’s best safeties during the final weeks of a 3-13 season. But Collins said on Monday that he is back and healthy, terming that his forearm “is back to 100 percent.”
He also said that he is excited about the new scheme brought in by defensive coordinator James Beetcher this offseason.
“Just going over the scheme a little bit — today we went over two schemes and it’s perfect,” Collins said on Monday in a conference call with the media. “While he was going over it, it was like I was in college again. It was back to what I knew like the back of my hand and it’s going to play fast because it’s very stern. I really don’t have any more thoughts about it.”
If Collins is healthy, which it sounds like he certainly is, then the Giants secondary has a chance to bounce back in 2018. Set to enter his fourth season in the league, Collins is considered the best safety in the NFC East and the argument could certainly be made that he is one of the best at his position in the league.
And since this will be his fourth season in the league, that means that Collins is in the final year of his rookie contract. The Giants would be wise to wrap him up long term, even with a potential contract dispute looming with Beckham.
Collins said that the status of his contract isn’t a concern at this point as he looks forward to “a clean slate” in 2018 after a tough year for his Giants. He appears to be dialed in on his role with the Giants this offseason.
“I’m just letting it just work itself out. I’m not really going through the negotiating part. I’m going to leave that between [general manager] Dave Gettleman and my agent and then go from there,” Collins said. “From that point on, I’m just here trying to make new friends with my boys, new relationships and be a captain like I’ve always been.”
