SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The revamp of the San Francisco 49ers' defensive line continued Wednesday when they finalized a deal with the Houston Texans to acquire tackle Malik 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 also agreed to terms on the termination of Leonard Floyd and Whittor Gross-Matos and tackle Jordan Elliott.
San Francisco's overhaul of the defensive line coincides with several 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 Captains) and Kinlaw (New York Jets) have already agreed to deals elsewhere.
Additionally, the Niners are expected to release powerhouse defensive lineman Arik Armstead when the new league year begins on Wednesday afternoon. The team and Armistead discussed a pay cut earlier this week but were unable to reach an agreement. Armstead's release could come with his June 1 hiring, which would spread out roughly $26 million of his dead money over the next two years.
In Collins, the 49ers get some help with their 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 pressure rate (12.2%) and set a career high with 5 sacks in 2023. He has 25.5 sacks Career spanning 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 season.
ESPN's DJ Bien-Aime contributed to this report.
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