FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots starting linebacker Jamie Collins addressed reporters Friday for the first time since being sidelined by an undisclosed illness Nov. 7, and said he feels ready to play Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles after missing the past four games.
Collins said he's feeling "good" but didn't want to specify the illness. When a reporter asked if it was a bad stomach bug, he said, "Yeah."
"I was just feeling bad. I was feeling real bad. I don’t want to talk about it, brings up [bad] memories,” Collins answered, when asked what symptoms he had. “It feels real good to be back.”
Collins had been away from the team facility for about two weeks as he recovered from the undisclosed illness. When he returned after the team's Nov. 23 win over the Bills, teammates said it was nice to have him back around the team. Collins returned to practice for the first time on Nov. 27.
"It's hard. Nobody wants to sit out in this game that's fun. It was real hard," the 6-foot-3, 250-pound Collins said, adding that he's been able to regain weight that he lost with the illness. "I lost a couple pounds."
Collins said it was the first time he had ever had an illness that knocked him out for that length of time.
