Former Falcons mega-bust Jalen Collins completes his billionth suspension, joins Colts practice squad

Jalen Collins had quite the rollercoaster ride with the Atlanta Falcons. He went from second-round pick to a potential future starter to an actual starter to multiple suspensions to getting burned badly by (checks notes) a third-string undrafted Dolphins wide receiver for 99 yards in preseason.

That was quite the sentence. Collins has served multiple suspensions for PEDs and recreational drugs. It’s a little tough to recall the specifics, especially for a player that performed so poorly despite ample opportunities.

Apparently that last suspension is complete and Collins has miraculously signed with a team.

I did not expect him to sign anywhere, but the practice squad certainly makes more sense than an active roster. Collins still needs a lot of work, and will be lucky to find much guaranteed money when his next suspension could cost two years.

This should be a relatively low risk move by the Colts. Collins certainly has more upside than most practice squad players. At the same time, the Colts are faced with the same problem the Falcons would have faced if Collins wasn’t cut after his last suspension: if Collins plays well, what do you do?

Assume he reaches anywhere close to his potential and a becomes a fringe Pro Bowl-type player. You can never pay him much, and you will always need a backup in case of the next suspension. There’s no way any team will hand him a multi-year deal with a large signing bonus.

The prospect of Collins playing well is obviously a pretty far off possibility. He was laughably bad the last time he suited up for the Falcons nearly 15 months ago. Now he has the chance to prove his on-the-field and off-the-field mistakes are behind him in Indianapolis.