Cade Jeffrey Collins (born March 1, 1983) is a retired NFL quarterback who played for the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears and Sahalee Storm in a career spanning nearly fifteen years. Collins, a native of Orlando, Florida, played college football for the University of Nebraska, where he was a three-year starter and the runner-up for the Bosch Trophy in 2004 while leading the Cornhuskers to an undefeated season, a No.2 ranking and a narrow loss in the Paradise Bowl national championship game against the Huron Highlanders.
Collins was the first pick in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins, whom he led to an 11-5 season, earning a playoff berth and Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. After that promising start, however, the Dolphins would have back-to-back losing seasons thanks to Collins' sporadic injuries, including a 1-15 run in 2007 that earned them another first overall pick, before making the playoffs in 2008 as a wild card seed. Collins declined to re-sign with the Dolphins after they refused to grant him an improved contract and was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2009 in a shocking move. After two difficult years with the Bucs, in which the team was among the worst in the NFL, Collins was cut and signed with the Chicago Bears as a backup to Channing Tatum, winning three games filling in for Tatum during their 2011 Super Bowl run. In 2014, he left Chicago after his contract expired and he was offered the chance to start with the Sahalee Storm. In 2016, Collins had his best year as a player, starting all 16 games for the first time since 2008, throwing for 3,500 yards and 30 touchdowns, as he led the Storm to their first playoff appearance since 2006 and a berth in the NFC Championship game, falling short to the Washington Redskins. The Storm, behind Collins, had another great year in 2017, earning a first round bye, only to be defeated at home by eventual Super Bowl champions Philadelphia. After missing most of the 2018 season with a torn ACL, Collins elected to retire the next offseason.