The Patriots trading linebacker Jaime Collins shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Bill Belichick made a series of moves over the past few months that added linebacker depth but were also signs that the team was ready to move on from Collins.

Belichick signed former Chicago Bears linebacker Shea McClellin in the spring, traded for linebacker Barkevious Mingo and just last week traded for linebacker Kyle Van Noy. All of these moves were made to add depth and to position the team to replace Collins.

I am not going to speculate whether or not Belichick thought Collins was still a three down linebacker or not. I will let other members of the local media chew on that. Here are the three reasons I think they traded him.

1. Money: If the rumors are true that Collins wanted Von Miller money, then I don’t blame the Patriots for trading him. Collins is not the pass rusher Von Miller is. He hasn’t produced nearly enough in his career from a pass rushing standpoint.  Sure, Collins is a better athlete than Miller but no team will pay him strictly on athletic ability.

2. Collins Freelanced Too Much: Collins played outside the system too much. Belichick and Matt Patricia are system guys. They want their players to play within the system. If you do your thing, you won’t play. Collins only played half the defensive snaps on Sunday, which tells me that they don’t see him as a full time linebacker and they don’t trust him. 

Belichick has only coached one guy that he allowed to play outside the system and that was Lawrence Taylor. Collins is no Lawrence Taylor. 

3. Shake Things Up: The Patriots have been inconsistent thus far this season on defense and this trade was a way for Belichick to shake things up. So, he trades arguably the team’s best defensive player because he wanted too much money and didn’t fit the team’s long term plans. 

Based on the reaction of the players, the trade got their attention. Belichick sent a loud and clear message. Now the remaining members on defense need to step it up and start playing better.