Before the Detroit Lions see what they have in Derrick Barnes, they want to see what they can get for Jamie Collins.
The Lions are exploring trade options for Collins, a team source told the Free Press on Wednesday, one day after coach Dan Campbell said Barnes “deserves a shot” at more playing time.
NFL Network and ESPN first reported news of a potential deal.
Collins, who was held out of practice Wednesday for trade reasons, struggled in Monday night’s loss to the Green Bay Packers, when he allowed a receiving touchdown to Aaron Jones and appeared late diagnosing several plays.
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Asked Tuesday about Collins’ effort level, Campbell said he does not play with the same effort as fellow linebacker Alex Anzalone.
“I mean, look, Jamie’s a big linebacker. He’s a very athletic linebacker. And the way he moves is a little bit different,” Campbell said. “Now, does he move with the same effort and have the same effort as Alex? No, I don’t (think so). I think Alex just plays at a high level all the time. That’s him, that’s how he goes.
“But Jamie, there’s things that Jamie does well that we still have to continue to use. He’s still a mismatch on third down, particularly in the rush game. We’ll see where this goes.”
At 31 and coming off a down season, Collins will not be a fit for many NFL teams. He still has $3.3 million left on his contract this season, and has been a liability in pass coverage during his time in Detroit.
According to Pro Football Reference, Collins has allowed four completions on four pass targets this season, at an average 11.8 yards per catch, and had a passer-rating-against of 106.2 in 2020.
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Barnes, a 2021 fourth-round pick out of Purdue, has been limited to five defensive snaps in the Lions’ first two games, with all of them coming when Collins was receiving medical attention for an ankle injury late in a Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Barnes missed time this preseason with a strained hamstring, but played well when he was on the field, including a six-tackle, one-sack performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“The thing that we want to make sure we do is bring him along slowly,” Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said in the preseason. “He still has a lot of things that he has to get better at, and we’re going to actually just continue to help him with that. He’s been making a lot of plays now. That’s what we expect from him. That’s why we drafted him. You saw that in college.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.