CLEVELAND, Ohio - Former Browns general manager Mike Lombardi, who remains close to Patriots coach Bill Belichick, said Tuesday that linebackr Jamie Collins' contract wasn't a problem in New England — but his effort was.
"Watch the tape. Jamie has not played particularly well," Lombardi said during his weekly appearance on the Kirk & Callahan show on WEEI 93.7 FM in Boston. "Sometimes freelancing is a problem, and I think sometimes effort is a problem."
Lombardi, who was fired by the Browns after the 2013 season, worked for the Patriots for the past two years while the Browns were still paying him.