You can count former Patriots executive and current FOX Sports analyst Mike Lombardi among those who believe New England was right to trade Jamie Collins.
In a surprising blockbuster move on Monday, New England traded the Pro Bowl linebacker to the Cleveland Browns for a conditional third-round pick.
Collins was widely regarded as one of the Patriots' premier defensive players, and it was assumed the trade was motivated by the linebacker's expiring contract. But Lombardi believes the club moved on because of on-field issues.
"Watch the tape. Jamie has not played particularly well," Lombardi said Tuesday on the Kirk & Callahan Show, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
"Sometimes freelancing is a problem, and I think sometimes effort is a problem," Lombardi added.
Collins' rookie deal runs out at the end of this season. He was reportedly asking to become the league's highest-paid inside linebacker - a demand the notoriously frugal Patriots were unlikely to meet.
"It's not about his contract. Let's forget that," Lombardi said. "Because if he was playing at a Pro Bowl level, as you believe he's playing, they would keep him and use him. But if he's playing at the level I've watched on tape there is really nothing you can do. You're better off trying to cut your losses and get something for him. It's nothing about the extension."
Lombardi said he trusts the opinion of head coach Bill Belichick over performance-grading sites like Pro Football Focus, though as a former member of the organization, it's less likely he'd criticize the move.
"This is about football," Lombardi said. "This is about watching the player. Grade the player. People have a perception. You're arguing based on perception. If you studied the game tape and you understood the defense, and you understood everything that’s going on, you would understand this is a football decision."
