The San Francisco 49ers already added to their defensive line on Tuesday, and just ahead of the start of the new league year, they did it again. After agreeing to terms with Leonard Floyd, Jordan Elliott and Yetur Gross-Matos, San Francisco swung a trade for Houston Texans defensive tackle Maliek Collins, according to ESPN. The Niners will reportedly send just a seventh-round pick to the Texans in exchange for Collins.
The 49ers are widely expected to release longtime stalwart Arik Armstead once the new league year begins, and the series of moves to fortify the rest of the line alongside Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave are evidence that they (correctly) believe it'll take more than just one player to replace everything the versatile Armstead brought to the table.
Collins played the first four years of his career with the Cowboys after Dallas made him a third-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, then spent a year in Las Vegas before signing a two-year contract and then a two-year extension with Houston. He is set to draw a base salary of $8 million (of which $6 million is guaranteed) this season, as well as a $9.5 million (non-guaranteed) base salary in 2025.
Collins is known primarily as a run-stopper, but also flashed some improved pass-rush skills with the Texans last season, notching a career-high five sacks under former 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who left the team last offseason to become the Texans' head coach. With San Francisco having promoted defensive assistant Nick Sorenson to the coordinator role after employing Steve Wilks last season following Ryans' departure, the Niners likely feel pretty good about Collins' fit in their defensive scheme.
