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Nick Collins Will Wait For New Contract
Published: July 3, 2009
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In 28 days the Packers begin stuffing their St. Norbert College dorm rooms with every conceivable luxury.
That is, every Packer but one.
Nick Collins will abstain from lugging his fridge and TV up three flights of stairs because he wants his contract restructured.
During the last mini-camp, Collins had to swallow hard when he looked across the locker room and saw the smiles that Greg Jennings had plastered all over his face after getting a three-year $27 million extension to be the team’s receiver of the future.
That makes the 26-year-old free safety wonder where the Packers’ priorities are. After getting stung with zero picks in 2007, Collins had a career breakthrough with seven, including three returned for scores. It was those numbers that got him a flight to Honolulu for the Pro Bowl and increased the respect among his peers.
When Collins was asked if he’d report to training camp if he doesn’t get a new contract, all he could mutter was, “We’ll see.”
The only reason Collins went to the mini-camp was to avoid the pesky fines that come along with missing the mandatory sessions.
Granted, general manager Ted Thompson has been known to be a miser when it comes time to negotiation time. Ryan Grant pushed Thompson’s patience last summer when the running back held out for seven days before the Packers brass caved in and granted him a four-year deal worth as much as $30 million.
Collins is pretty much in the same situation this summer as Grant was last summer. Grant had a breakthrough season as a rookie, missing the 1,000-yard plateau by just 44 yards while maintaining a 5.1 yards per carry average.
But after inking Grant last August, he never regained the same staccato cuts from a year ago as his yards per carry plummeted 1.2 yards and he compounded that with four fumbles.
The Packers will use Grant as a test tube in determining if Collins is worth a generous price tag. Collins is due $3.045 million this year and if he’s allowed to leave, a gaping hole will be left in the secondary now that cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris are in their thirties.
If the Packers opt to call Collins’ bluff, they should expect to wait. Collins knows that it would be foolish for the Packers to throw Charlie Peprah or Aaron Rouse to the wolves in a starting role, so expect Collins to get comfortable and expect a payday.
