Washington to deploy high-priced safety Collins at LB

The Washington Football Team is moving expensive safety Landon Collins to linebacker, but it's unknown how long the switch will last.

"We'll see," head coach Ron Rivera told reporters Friday, according to The Athletic's Nicki Jhabvala.

Rivera revealed Wednesday that he told the veteran defensive back that he views him as more of a downhill linebacker, a role where the team needs help.

Washington signed the hard-hitting safety to a six-year, $84-million contract in 2019, one year before Rivera joined the franchise. Collins has been a strong run defender throughout his career, but he's been a liability in pass coverage at times in Washington.

Collins said Thursday that he agreed to switch positions to help the team. However, he indicated that he'd eventually want to return to safety, a spot he's played since high school.

"Do I like playing linebacker? No, not at all," he said. "I don't like hitting big linemen, getting big linemen off of me. I'm undersized for being a linebacker. So I don't want to play down there, but if (I) need to, yeah, I'll do so. I'm good at it."

Collins, who owns the richest contract for a safety based on total value, has 39 tackles across six outings this season. The 27-year-old has one interception over 28 games with Washington. He missed most of last season with a torn Achilles.