In case anyone had wondered whether Landon Collins still held a grudge against Dave Gettleman, he won’t be afraid to tell you.
“I want fans to understand that it wasn’t the Giants. It was Dave Gettleman,” Collins said. “It sucked. I wanted to stay, but Gettleman didn’t want me here. So I had to take my chances somewhere else. Coming back is a dream come true.”
Collins re-joined the Giants last week after he signed with the team’s practice squad and traveled to London to be with them. It comes after Collins signed an $84 million contract with the Washington Commanders in 2019.
Things didn’t go as planned in the Nation’s Capital for Collins who struggled and was released from his contract in March. He had remained a free agent until the Giants came calling.
There is the chance that Collins could work back onto the 53-man roster, but coming back to the practice squad gave him some perspective.
“It’s humbling for sure, coming from where you’re at the top bar and you’re coming, I wouldn’t say at the bottom but back to ground one and building your way back up,” he said.
The Giants are 4-1 to start the year, but still aren’t among the teams eyed as Super Bowl contenders. New head coach Brian Daboll and new GM Joe Schoen have helped to create a new culture around the team, but this is still viewed as a rebuilding season,
Collins viewed the chance to come back to New York as an opportunity to jump on with a team that was building something special.
“I definitely love this place, but I’m 28 years old I got time before I have to go around chasing rings. I think this team has a great opportunity to do so,” Collins said. “Be stable, stay with what they were doing before I even got here and stay as a whole and staying flying around on the ball. The sky is the limit with this team.”
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Collins has been on the field the past two days of practice and is slowly working his way back into shape.
“Right now I’m patient because I still got a lot to learn,’’ he said. “I’m gonna take my time, I’m not in any rush, I don’t want to go onto the field and be the reason why something bad happens.’’
