When the Washington Redskins signed all-pro safety Landon Collins in this past year’s free agency, they did so knowing that he would be the most high-profile safety they’d rostered since Sean Taylor, a dynamic player who started his transcendent career with the Redskins in the early 2000s before being tragically murdered in 2007.
Now it just so happens that Collins, who was voted to his fourth NFL Pro Bowl earlier this year, has passed Taylor’s single-season tackling record with the Redskins.
Collins says that he idolized Taylor as a kid, growing up in New Orleans. He modeled his game after the hard-hitting safety, and he followed his legacy by signing a lucrative, $84 million contract with Washington this past offseason. Now, with only 15 games played in his first season in Washington, Collins has already surpassed Taylor’s single-season tackling record, racking up 116 so far in 2019. Taylor’s high-mark was 111 tackles in 2006.
“It’s exciting for me,” Collins said, via Redskin.com. “To beat my favorite player’s record is outstanding and a dream come true.”
With six tackles in Washington’s 41-35 OT loss to the New York Giants on Sunday, Collins became the first safety for the Redskins to have more than 111 tackles in a single season since Taylor did so in 2006.
Though it will be impossible to dethrone Taylor as a cult-figure in Redskins’ lore, Collins is well on his way to being remembered as one of the best defensive backs to play in Washington.
