Landon Collins has been playing exclusively at linebacker the last two games for the Washington Football Team. It’s a position his coaches asked him to play in lieu of the team’s need with Jon Bostic out with a season-ending pectoral injury.
However, Collins stresses he is a safety and prefers not to be linebacker.
“Do I like playing linebacker? No. Not at all,” Collins said per Sam Fortier of The Washington Post. “I don’t like hitting big linemen, getting big linemen off me. I’m undersized for being a linebacker. I don’t want to play down there, but if need to, yeah. I’m good at it.”
Collins also pointed out there has been no clarity on if the move to linebacker is temporary due to injuries or if the team prefers him to be there permanently.
A lot has been made about Collins’ struggles in coverage. Even at linebacker, he was a target of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes last week. Collins allowed five catches for 78 yards on eight targets.
Washington head coach Ron Rivera said Collins’ “best football” is near the line of scrimmage. Rivera believes Collins is a downhill linebacker. Collins has done what the team has asked of him. But one thing is clear, he still feels he is a safety.
