Landon Collins Reveals 'Renewed Drive' To Help Washington Football Team in 2021

As the Washington Football Team prepares for the start of the 2021 season, the defense under Jack Del Rio could cement its NFC East status.

And one "name'' player is looking to cement his status, too.

Del Rio and WFT head coach Ron Rivera have floated the idea of potentially moving safety Landon Collins down to the linebacker role. Coming off a torn Achilles and finding most of his success near the line of scrimmage, it seems like a fine fit for both parties that would help the team improve overall.

Collins shot the idea down down via Instagram this offseason, stating it was "not happening, my guy." On Tuesday, he told reporters that he never bought into the notion.

"I was just laughing at it," Collins said to reporters following an OTA session.

Collins, who's entering his third season on a six-year deal worth $84 million, might be used more as a run-stopper rather than in coverage. There will be packages designed for his strong safety position to line up at the second-level of the defense.

All that said, he prides himself on being a safety, the position he's played since his days at Alabama.

"I was drafted as a safety, and that's where I was going to be," Collins said. "If somebody was to come talk to me about it, we would talk about it. That's about it. If we have packages to put me into play [at linebacker], I'm always open to it. I'd rather have us all DBs on the field anyway. The more DBs, the merrier."

Collins has been working with the secondary during OTAs. But as he still has not fully recovered from the Achilles injury suffered in October, his focus has been on the "mental reps" rather than physical ones.

The question now turns to what will WFT do in the secondary. Collins stated he is expecting to be ready for Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers, but will be ready to start again? Keep in mind seventh-round pick Kam Curl replaced Collins and outplayed him when on the field.

Washington also added veteran safety Bobby McCain following his release from the Miami Dolphins earlier this offseason. He is likely start as the at the free safety position with a strong camp.

Despite being the second-highest paid safety at $16.9 million, Collins will have to compete for his starting job this summer. Curl impressed, but the 27-year-old does not seemed worried of his status with the organization as the summer approaches.

"I’m just happy the way he played," Collins said of Curl. "He’s been playing excellent. He stepped into the position very well, and I’m proud of him. I’m getting older. He’s a younger guy, and the more he learns from me, and the more we learn from each other, the better we are as a defense."

Washington finished second in pass defense for 2020, allowing opponents to average just 191.8 yards through the air per game. The team is hoping for similar results with a healthy Collins, plus the additions of McCain and draft picks Jamin Davis and Benjamin St-Juste to fortify the back-seven.

Collins said he has a "renewed drive" entering the season. After watching his team win the division and fall just short at home to eventual Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay, he hopes to be a factor on the team as they look to build off that success in Year 2 of the Rivera era.

Having veteran competition in the secondary is not considered an insult to rather, but rather a welcomed warrant to solidify Washington's best asset.

"There's a lot of knowledge on the field now," Collins said. "The more knowledge on the field, the better we play as a cohesive defense. When one person goes down, you're not missing a beat. That's the best thing about it."

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