5 former NY Giants who have jumped ship to join an NFC East rival
2. S Landon Collins
Former Giants safety Landon Collins was dominant at the beginning of his professional career with the G-Men. He spent four seasons in New York and quickly became a fan favorite among Big Blue Nation. The Giants took Collins in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft after the team lost Quintin Demps, Antrel Rolle, and Stevie Brown in free agency. In his first season in the NFL, Collins finished with 112 tackles, nine pass deflections, and an interception in 16 starts, but he would break out in his sophomore campaign with the Giants.
In 2016, Collins would finish as a First-Team All-Pro member, earn his first Pro Bowl honor, and finish third for the AP Defensive Player of the Year. He helped lead the Giants to an 11-5 finish under first-year head coach Ben McAdoo. Collins finished the season with 125 tackles, four sacks, 13 pass deflections, five interceptions, and a touchdown in 16 starts. He was also ranked 28th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 list.
While Collins would continue his success, earning two more consecutive Pro Bowl honors, the team would not. The Giants would start the next season 2-10 and ultimately end up firing McAdoo. While Collins performed well that year, he ended the season on the IR list, suffering a fractured forearm, which required surgery. The following season, he was the talk of several trade rumors and, unfortunately, suffered more injuries, which landed him on IR once again.
After his time with the Giants, Collins signed a six-year, $84 million contract with Washington, where he would play for three seasons. After the 2021 season, the team designated Collins as a post-June 1 release to free up some cap space to make further free-agent signings. In October of 2022, Collins rejoined the Giants as a practice squad member and would eventually be elevated for Weeks 7 and 8 to play against the Jaguars and Seahawks.
He was again elevated from the practice squad for Weeks 16 and 17 against Washington and the Colts, where he would have a pick-six on Nick Foles. Collins would play six games for the G-Men and start just one in his second stint with the team. Collins didn't play last year and unless a team gives him a new chance out of nowhere, it looks like his playing days could be over.