Pretty good time to be Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Maliek Collins. Not only is your team, which won five games last year, already at five wins here in the seventh week of the 2026 season, but you’ve just managed to sign a two-year, $30 million contract, a significant raise over the two-year, $20 million deal you’re currently on. And you’ve done so while coming off a nasty season-ending quad injury, and at age 31.
Moreover, Collins, who has always been an effective interior defensive lineman, is finally getting a chance to settle in with the Browns late in his career here, after bouncing through five organizations in his 11 seasons in the NFL. And he’s happy about that.
Collins said he sees beloved former Browns come back to Cleveland and take on the ritual of smashing the guitar in the pregame, and could see himself in that role. Said Collins: “I love the city of Cleveland. … I want to be up there one day, banging that guitar too.”
Maliek Collins Nudged Browns Into a Deal
Still, it is a bit unusual for a player to sign and extension of that size mid-season, whether with the Browns or elsewhere. Collins said he has not had the experience of re-signing during the year before, but that the Browns were obviously hesitant about making a contract commitment to him until it was clear he was healthy.
Collins has 3.5 sacks in the three weeks heading into the Week 7 game against the Titans. He sure looked healthy.
Said Collins: “I never signed an extension in the season before, so, whether it is like OTAs or free agency so, it’s kinda weird. You wake up and I started really slow today but I am happy to put that behind me and move forward now.”
Collins also said he was nudging the team into making a deal. He said: “I called them every week. I mean, they just wanted to make sure I was healthy. So, I showed I was healthy over the last couple of weeks, showed that I was back to being me. And they had the faith in me.”
Browns Star Opens Up on ‘Weird’ $30 Million Contract Move