Until this point, we hadn’t really talked about New York Giants safety Landon Collins in relation to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This was because it was assumed if the Giants and Collins couldn’t come to terms on a new contract, New York would apply the franchise tag. But according to NFL reporter Josina Anderson this may not happen and this matters to the Steelers.
There’s been nothing confirmed by the team and this report has been disputed but it’s fair to infer things might not be going well between New York and Collins.
If there is a single free agent the Steelers want to throw money at, it’s Collins. Despite playing hurt for some of last season he was still among the top safeties in the NFC. In just 12 games in 2018, Collins racked up 96 tackles.
Where would the Steelers fit Collins in the defense? Pittsburgh loves to run three safeties. They thought they had their third safety last season when they signed Morgan Burnett. But his inability to stay healthy wrecked those plans. Now Burnett has talked about wanting his release so there is a need for a third safety.
A trio of Collins, Sean Davis and Terrell Edmunds would take a ton of pressure off of the rest of the defense. This is especially true of the cornerbacks. Collins adds a guy who can truly shift between a hybrid linebacker to safety role seamlessly.
This is a situation the Steelers need to keep an eye on. There’s no doubt cornerback is another top need but there isn’t a free-agent cornerback who could be as impactful as Collins would for the Steelers.
