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Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers‘ defensive line renovation continued Wednesday when they struck a deal with the Houston Texans to acquire tackle Maliek Collins for a seventh-round pick, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Collins, 28, is San Francisco’s fourth addition to the defensive line since the NFL’s early negotiating window opened on Monday. The Niners have also agreed to terms with ends Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos and with tackle Jordan Elliott.
San Francisco’s overhaul of the defensive line coincides with many of their key players in that group hitting free agency. Ends Chase Young, Clelin Ferrell and Randy Gregory and tackles Javon Kinlaw, Kevin Givens and Sebastian Joseph-Day are all unrestricted free agents. Ferrell (Washington Commanders) and Kinlaw (New York Jets) have already agreed to deals elsewhere.
In addition, the Niners are expected to release stalwart defensive lineman Arik Armstead when the new league year opens Wednesday afternoon. The team and Armstead discussed a pay cut earlier this week but were unable to come to terms on an agreement. Armstead’s release could come with a June 1 designation, which would spread his nearly $26 million in dead money over the next two years.
In Collins, the 49ers are getting some help for the interior pass rush. He ranked 12th among defensive tackles in pass rush win rate (12.9%), 10th among tackles with at least 600 snaps in pressured rate (12.2%) and tied a career high with 5 sacks in 2023. He has 25.5 career sacks in eight seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders and Texans.
The Texans signed Collins to a two-year, $23 million extension with $20 million guaranteed last offseason.
ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime contributed to this report.