The Cleveland Browns haven’t made many moves in the early stages of free agency, except trading for former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett and signing defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka to a one-year deal.
The Browns are coming off a disastrous 2024 season and need to find guys on both sides of the ball to help this roster be somewhat competitive in 2025. On Wednesday, Cleveland added to its defensive line, signing the perfect replacement for veteran Dalvin Tomlinson.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Browns signed veteran defensive tackle Maliek Collins to a two-year, $20 million deal, with $13 million guaranteed. The San Francisco 49ers officially released Collins on Wednesday, clearing the way for him to join the Browns.
The 29-year-old defender was traded last offseason from the Houston Texans to the 49ers. The veteran defensive lineman played well in his lone season in San Francisco as he was one of their starting defensive tackles.
Collins racked up 33 combined tackles, 12 quarterback hits, five sacks, and two fumble recoveries in 17 games.
Last season, Collins struggled with stopping the run (42.8 grade on PFF), which will not excite Browns fans, given the team’s struggles. Jim Schwartz’s unit allowed the 12th-most rushing yards per game (129.7) and fourth-most rushing touchdowns (22).
However, Collins’ pass-rushing grade was solid at 70.0, which is better than Tomlinson's (64.8), even though Tomlinson was slightly better against the run (64.2). Nonetheless, the Browns felt they needed to release Tomlinson with a post-June 1 designation, which frees up $6.4 million in cap space, but Cleveland took on $5.042M in dead cap.
In 2023, Tomlinson signed a four-year, $57 million contract ($27.5 million guaranteed) with the Browns. Cleveland hopes Collins will be productive immediately next year as they try to get out of the basement in the AFC North.