ARIZONA, USA — Throughout the NFL season, Cardinals Locker Room host Lina Washington will be sharing exclusive interviews in a segment called “Lina’s Lounge.” This week, we’re hearing from Arizona Cardinals linebacker Zaven Collins.
The second-year pro will admit his rookie season was challenging but this year he's laser-focused on becoming the player the Cardinals and their fans need him to be. Collins is working to become an impact player in the NFL, and he took a big step toward that in Week 2 when he wore the green dot as the mike backer during Arizona’s comeback win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
In a Week 6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the former first round draft pick recorded the first two sacks of his professional career. With more snaps comes more responsibility for Collins who’s already feeling more confident after his first full offseason in the NFL.
“I felt I played -- compared to the last year -- a lot better. The game, to me, felt slower. Everything felt a lot quicker with the way I was performing,” Collins said. “But it felt good to be back out there. It felt good after having that first long offseason.”
Play clean and run to the football. That's the motto for No. 25 this year. Collins has been working all his life to become a star on the gridiron even though the Hominy, Oklahoma, native often looks like an authentic cowboy.
“It’s definitely part of my fashion. Where I grew up, a lot of my friends in high school were true cowboys… they're sunup to sundown working and pushing cows,” Collins said. “I've done that stuff before but that wasn't my everyday thing. Sports was my everyday thing.”
For a while it seemed like JJ Watt cracking jokes that Collins’s expense was going to be an everyday thing, too. Last year, after Collins was arrested for speeding, Watt gave us a gem of a soundbite when he was asked about Arizona's young linebackers.
“They're big fast dudes. They're extremely – Zaven, a little too fast sometimes -- but they're big fast, guys. They're very smart,” Watt told a group of reporters during Training Camp in 2021. “That landed huh?”
The joke landed with local media, but Collins has found a way to poke fun at Watt’s skills behind the wheel as well.
“He's definitely let up on the jokes. We went to dinner one day and -- I have a video of it – it took him about 20 minutes to back in,” Collins said. “That's a lot safer than what I did, yes. But, you know, potato-potahto.”
Collins is continuing to develop in the desert and he's offering this message to the Red Sea and the Cardinals move forward this season:
“Thank you for supporting us. Thank you for sticking out the whole season with us. Stay with us, we're committed to you guys… We appreciate you guys being there for us. Go Red Sea and go Cards!”
Follow the conversation with Lina Washington on Twitter: @LWashingtonTV. If you have a sports story idea, e-mail Lina at LWashington@12News.com.
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