As the NFL season concluded with Sunday night's Super Bowl, the focus of hundreds of NFL players shifted to relaxing and recovering from a tough season. For one player however, the Monday after Super Bowl XLVIII brought about a return to football. Former Green Bay Packers Safety Nick Collins made two tweets that suggest he wants to return to the NFL in 2014.
Collins, who will be 31 in August, had spinal surgery following a hit in the second game of the 2011 season against the Carolina Panthers. The surgery ended his season and the Packers released him that offseason. Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy determined that they did not feel comfortable playing Collins even with medical clearance. Thompson had this to say in a statement released by the Packers the day of Collins' release:
"In the end, we were not comfortable clearing him to play again. As with all of our players, Nick is a member of our family and we thought of him that way as we came to this conclusion. Nick is a part of our core, and this is a very difficult day for all Packers. Making this kind of decision is never easy, especially when it involves someone like Nick Collins. He has meant so much to the community, his teammates and the organization. He is a good man and will always be part of the Packers family."
"If Nick was my son, I would not let him play," said McCarthy in March 2012.
Although Collins expressed interest in playing, no other team wanted to gamble on his life after football should he take another hit to the neck. Collins did return to Lambeau to make an appearance for Green Bay's Wild Card game against the San Francisco 49ers, and was greeted by a tremendous ovation on that cold January afternoon.
With the safety position being a gaping hole in the Packers defense since Collins' injury, a return to the only team he played for in his seven seasons makes sense. Much of the Packers' early success in Dom Capers' 3-4 defense can be attributed to the ball-hawk mentality the 3-time Pro Bowler displayed. Collins' pick-six in Super Bowl XLV set the tone early and gave the Packers a commanding 14-0 lead they would not relinquish.
Ted Thompson is known for being notoriously conservative with injuries and free agents, but the Packers won't be able to bank on a play-making safety being available at pick 21 in the NFL Draft. He spoke very highly of Collins two days after his release.
"There were people that doubted him when he came in. He did nothing but impress us. He started from Day 1. In a very shortened career, I think he went to three Pro Bowls. It would have been many, many more," said Thompson.
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