BEREA, Ohio — Pro Bowl linebacker Jamie Collins admitted he was surprised when the New England Patriots traded him to the Cleveland Browns and didn’t understand the move.

He also insisted it took him just 10 minutes to get over the shock.

“I’m on to Cleveland,” Collins quipped Wednesday, borrowing a line from Patriots Coach Bill Belichick.

Collins indeed has moved on to the Browns, but for how long is a fascinating question. He’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March and will seek a lucrative contract.

The Browns are armed with about $50 million in salary-cap space and want to re-sign Collins, 27, after trading what’s expected to be a third-round compensatory draft pick in 2017 to the Patriots on Monday.

But is Collins open-minded about potentially signing with the Browns, who are 0-8?

“I mean, it is what it is. I’m here now,” Collins replied. “So this is my home for right now. I’m going to play like this is my home. This is my focus.”

Does he feel like he’s auditioning for the rest of the league in the final eight games?

“Yeah, that’s what we do,” Collins said. “That’s what every player does anyway. I’m good with that, too. I’m just blessed to be in the position I’m in.”

Collins denied a Boston Globe report that he turned down a contract offer from the Patriots worth $11 million a year.

“I didn’t get anything,” he said.

He also shot down a report from ESPN that he was asking at one point for “Von Miller money.” Miller, a star edge rusher for the Denver Broncos, makes about $19 million a year.

“I don’t know nothing about Von Miller money. Nothing,” Collins said. “It never came out of my mouth, never. I’m not Von Miller. Just so you know. Let’s be smart. Let’s all have some common sense.”

If the Browns can’t reach a contract extension with Collins, they could use their franchise tag to secure him for another season for about $15 million.

“We just want to get it right (by winning), and he’s part of the process to helping us get it right,” Coach Hue Jackson said. “We welcome him with open arms and he’s also letting us in. It goes both ways, and we’re going to see if we can make this a good marriage.”

Apparently one thing the Browns have going for them is they’ve given Collins a family vibe, he said, on a “different level” than the Patriots did. He said talks with Jackson have been “positive and helpful.”

“It’s a family around here, definitely,” Collins said. “You can talk to anyone around here, any of these guys. They’re close. You’re going to feel welcome.”

He stressed he’s not going to have a problem transitioning from a Super Bowl contender to the league’s only winless team.

“I’m not worried about the organization coming from New England to here,” Collins said.

In Collins’ final season at Southern Mississippi, the team went 0-12.

“I know how to handle the situation,” he said. “Situations occur all the time. I’m up for the challenge. I done been here before so this is really no big deal.”

Now Collins faces another type of adversity because former Patriots executive and Browns general manager Mike Lombardi launched a smear campaign against him since the trade.

Lombardi appeared on the Bill Simmons Podcast on Monday and Boston radio station WEEI on Tuesday to say Belichick traded Collins not because his contract is set to expire soon, but because he hasn’t played well this season and freelances too much on defense.

Lombardi called Collins “very talented but very moody, very inconsistent with his effort.”

Collins said he believes he played at a high level for the Pats this season after making his first Pro Bowl last year.

Did he freelance too much?

“I don’t know,” he said. “That’s what the coaches do. I just come out here, and I do what I’ve got to do. It’s not my job to trade anyone.

“I’m a workaholic. I’m going to give you what I’ve got every game, every day.”