L.J. Collier looking to salvage NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are giving the underachieving defensive end an opportunity to prove he can excel at the NFL level.
By Jim Koch
Take a look at the edge-rushers on the Arizona Cardinals roster, and you'll likely come away unimpressed. Youngsters such as Cameron Thomas, Myjai Sanders, and BJ Ojulari offer hope, but the veteran pass rushers they'll be competing with for playing time are far from special.
One of the veterans that the Cards would love to see step up is L.J. Collier, a former defensive end with the Seattle Seahawks. General manager Monti Ossenfort signed the former first-round draft pick to a one-year contract back in March. What exactly does Arizona's new personnel chief see in the underachieving Collier?
There's no denying that the former Texas Christian University product has gotten off to rough start as a professional. Seattle expected much more out of Collier, and they had good reason to. Back in 2019, the Seahawks front office used the 29th-overall selection on the former Horned Frogs star.
Arizona Cardinals are rolling the dice on a defensive end who has achieved very little in the NFL
As a rookie, Collier totaled a measly three tackles in the 11 matchups he suited up for with Seattle. There was improvement in the sophomore campaign, when the Texas native was credited with 22 tackles and the first three sacks of his pro career. In two years since then, however, Collier has racked up just 15 tackles and zero sacks in 18 games for the Seahawks defense.
The Cardinals are obviously expecting a whole lot more. After wearing out his welcome in Seattle, Collier will be given an opportunity to show what he's capable of in the desert. "Big Red" may be in possession of the league's most undermanned defensive line, so anyone who shows that they're capable of getting to the opposition's quarterbacks could earn significant playing time.
Collier has accomplished very little up until this point, and his time may be running out. "NFL" can stand for "not for long" if you don't produce. Arizona is giving the underachieving Collier what could very well be his last chance to succeed.
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(Statistics provided by Pro Football Reference)