ESPN: Collins stays in Washington

[MTK]

The Washington Redskins fought off the advances of Jacksonville, the New York Giants and the St. Louis Rams to keep backup quarterback Todd Collins.

Collins agreed to a three-year, $9 million deal to stay in Washington. Though the Giants and Rams made hard pushes after the 12:01 a.m. Friday morning opening of free agency, the Jaguars made the hardest push to pull Collins away from the Redskins.

The Redskins kept upping the offer to Collins and the Jaguars kept upping their offer. Collins, who studied all the backup quarterback numbers and met with head coach Jim Zorn Thursday in Quincy, Ma., found the market for him hotter than expected.

Collins not only won over his Redskins teammates by a late-season surge that led the Redskins to the playoffs, but he earned the respect of the league as a valuable backup. Redskins owner Dan Snyder did not want to lose him as a backup to Jason Campbell and stepped up in the end to make sure he stayed.

Link: ESPN NEWS