The 49ers will get $10 million off the books in 2025.
The San Francisco 49ers are officially pressing the reset button for their defensive line. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Niners are releasing veteran defensive tackle Maliek Collins.
San Francisco traded a 2024 seventh-round pick for Collins last offseason. Collins played 688 snaps for the Niners last offseason. He played well in his role. He was supposed to complement Javon Hargrave, but Hargrave did not make it more than a month into the season, placing Collins as the Niners top interior lineman. That was never the goal when acquiring Collins.
Collins’s contract was set to void after the 2025 season. The 49ers will clear around $10 million in cap space after this release. That dead money will be spread out over the next four seasons, per Over the Cap:
2025: $5.4M
2026: $4.07M
2027: $2.71M
2028 $1.35M
Now that Collins and Hargrave are officially released, the 49ers current defensive tackles are Jordan Elliott, Kevin Givens, Evan Anderson, Khalil Davis, and Kalia Davis. There are no defensive tackles signed to future deals, aka the practice squad.
It’s safe to say the 49ers have their eyes on defensive tackles in the NFL Draft or free agency. Robert Saleh knows he needs an anchor and that DeForest Buckner/Quinnen Williams isn’t on the roster. They are in the draft, and the 49ers have an opportunity to draft a handful of quality options.
Collins will officially be free to sign anywhere on Wednesday. That is, if a trade doesn’t happen first. NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco said the team will see if there’s a team willing to trade for Collins.
There are multiple reports the 49ers have released DT Maliek Collins. That move is not official, yet. The 49ers can be expected to first see if there’s a team out there willing to make a trade for him. He started all 17 games and played 67% of the team’s defensive snaps.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) March 9, 2025