The Washington Commanders are releasing safety Landon Collins after he declined to take a second pay cut. News of his pending release was first reported by The Sports Junkies of 106.7 the Fan.
Collins didn’t waste time to give a public reaction about his release. Speaking with CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson, Collins summarized the situation surrounding Washington asking him to take a pay cut.
“They asked me to take a pay cut. The first one ws fine. Then they asked me to take another one. The money changed after they [traded for] Carson Wentz. I’ll just take my chances in free agency,” Collins told Anderson.
Landon Collins signed a six-year, $84 million contract with Washington in 2019 which at the time made him the highest-paid safety in the league. The team previously restructured his deal to create cap space, but asking for a second wasn’t a go for Collins this time around.
Collins was scheduled to make $11.5 million in base salary with a $16.1 million cap hit. His release will leave Washington with $9.6 million of dead cap, but they’ll save close to $6.5 million of cap space. Money that was needed to recoup following the trade for quarterback Carson Wentz.
The Commanders had an estimate of just over $30 million of cap space entering this off-season. But Wentz will carry a $28.2 million cap hit this season.
Collins seemingly hit his stride following a role adjustment in 2021 to a safety/linebacker hybrid position. While the team expressed their desire to keep him, Collins’ decline on a pay cut left Washington no choice but to cut ties.
