Landon Collins leaves the Giants with a broken heart and some extra incentive.
“I’ve got a lot of motivation for the next six years,” Collins, who signed a six-year, $84 million contract with the Redskins this offseason, told NJ.com.
Collins said it bothered him the Giants never made a contract offer, despite him wanting to spend his whole career with the club.
“I’m starting a new chapter and I’m on a good team,” the safety said. “When I left the Giants, I was kind of heartbroken. I loved the Giants. When I started there, I wanted to finish there.”
“I wanted to be one of those guys to finish his career on one team. They didn’t give me the opportunity to do that. It’s a business. I can’t do anything about that.”
The Giants chose to let Collins, a three-time Pro Bowler, walk away rather than extend him or try to make him play under the franchise tag. Collins said he knew how things were going to go after he was the subject of trade talks in October, calling the experience “very, very eye-opening.”
The Giants signed former Cardinal Antoine Bethea a two-year contract to help replace him.
Collins missed the final four games of the 2018 season with a shoulder injury after leading the Giants in tackles the past four seasons.
He could run into his former teammates before they step on the football field versus each other. He plans on hosting his charity softball game, which previously pitted members of the Giants defense and offense against each other, under a different format in June at Palisades Credit Union Park in Pomona, N.Y. He wants an appropriate farewell to the area.
“At the end of the day, when I was a Giant or if I’m not a Giant, I feel like I’m a part of this community,” Collins said. “I didn’t want to shut it down and end it like that. I’ll be saying my final goodbyes to my fans and handing the baton off to somebody.”
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