The business side of football can be an eye-opening experience in a league where contracts aren't fully guaranteed and loyalties between teams and players can change as often as the weather.
After four seasons with the New York Giants, safety Landon Collins experienced it first hand when the Giants decided to let him walk in free agency, where he eventually signed a six-year deal with the Washington Redskins.
Collins, a 2016 first-team All-Pro selection and three-time Pro Bowler for the Giants, felt a sense of sorrow he couldn't end his career in New York.
"I'm starting a new chapter and I'm on a good team," Collins told Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com "When I left the Giants, I was kind of heartbroken. I loved the Giants. When I started there, I wanted to finish there.
"I wanted to be one of those guys to finish his career on one team. They didn't give me the opportunity to do that. It's a business. I can't do anything about that."
The Giants signaled they were prepared to move on from Collins as the trade deadline approached the past season.
Collins' name came up numerous times leading to the end of October, prompting the safety to say after the deadline passed that he didn't want the Giants to place a one-year franchise tag on him.
But it was the Giants' unwillingness to retain him ahead of free agency that proved a big disappointment.
"They never made an offer," Collins said. "I knew when they were about to trade me how it was going to go. Very, very eye-opening."
"I've got a lot of motivation for the next six years," Collins said.
