The Browns are close to finalizing a multi-year contract with linebacker Jamie Collins, CBS Sports reported Thursday.
The report said “significant progress” has been made between the sides and that the deal will be done by the weekend.
Absent a new deal, Collins would have had hit the open market in March and would have been one of the most coveted free agents at any position. The Browns hope locking him up will be the first step in an important and busy offseason; they come out of last season with the most salary cap room of any team and hold the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.
The Browns acquired Collins in a trade before the trade deadline last November. They gave up a fourth-round pick that reportedly will actually become a compensatory pick at the end of the third round. The Browns would have received a compensatory pick had Collins left via free agency.
The Patriots traded him figuring they wouldn’t be able to meet his salary demands, and Collins started all eight games he played with the Browns. He had two sacks and a forced fumble in those eight games.
Collins has 12.5 sacks and five interceptions over his four-year career. He said at the end of the season he was open to returning to the Browns but would only do so if the money was right.
A second-round pick in 2013, Collins had been a starter since his second year with the Patriots before the trade.
