In less than a month, Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins has gone from victim of a serious illness -- one which caused him to lose a significant amount of weight -- to the verge of a comeback.
Collins told reporters as much on Friday, noting that he feels good enough to play against the Eagles. The Patriots later announced that the linebacker is questionable.Â
The news is obviously welcome for Bill Belichick, who has been wildly successful with Collins as his swiss army knife on defense for years now. Collins is one of the most athletic linebackers in football, and his absence was felt during a recent three-game stretch where they've looked closer to the mean.
Though Belichick has every reason to be cautious here and certainly has the slack within the division, it will be interesting to see how he eases Collins back into the defense or if Collins ends up playing his normal workload. He barely missed a snap this season until the Dolphins game, when he ended up playing 49 of 66 defensive snaps.
