Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said the team would explore a possible trade of linebacker Jamie Collins, but whatever offers might've come, they apparently weren't appealing enough.
The Lions released Collins Tuesday, per the team.
The Lions have turned to rookie Derrick Barnes to fill the role vacated by Collins. Barnes made his first start of the season Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, and made four stops while playing about half the team's defensive snaps.
The Lions waited through Sunday and Monday to see if Week 3 action would spark any more trade interest in Collins, per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. When it didn't happen, the team cut the 2015 Pro Bowler loose.
Collins made 101 tackles for the Lions in 2020 under former Lions coach Matt Patricia, for whom Collins played in New England. But he had struggled this season, particularly in a Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers that spurred Campbell to suggest a move could be in the works. It proved to be Collins' last game in Detroit, as he was not at the Lions practice facility Thursday and was designated inactive Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
