Cleveland Browns DT Maliek Collins suffers major injury vs. San Francisco 49ers

The Cleveland Browns defense is going back to the drawing board after defensive lineman Maliek Collins suffered a major injury in Week 13 against the San Francisco 49ers.

In the third quarter, Collins suffered a knee injury and was immediately ruled out by the team. A cart came out for him, likely resulting in an ailment that could cost the veteran the rest of his season.

Browns standout DT Maliek Collins was carted off the field with knee injury and immediately ruled OUT. Teammates came to console him.

Collins was a great FA signing having an all-pro year leading all DTs with 6.5 sacks coming into this game. Tough one.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) November 30, 2025

Collins gets hurt vs. 49ers

In the team's last game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Collins had his best showing yet with 2.5 sacks as the Browns pulled out a win on the road. Myles Garrett spoke on how well Collins has been playing and how much he means to the defense.

"He's rushing his behind off," Garrett said of Collins via team website writer Kelsey Russo.

"I think we're really playing off each other, and we have great chemistry. I'm looking forward to seeing how far he can take his season as well, because him and Mase [Mason Graham] are running games at a high level, winning at a high level, and then whatever we can communicate and run games between each other as a unit, it's really come special very quickly, and I'm just happy to see him doing his thing.

"He's one of the most unique rushers I've had the privilege to be with the combination of finesse and power."

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was also impressed by Collins' production against the Raiders, showing that he can be a valuable member of the team.

"That defensive performance was incredible. The 10 sacks, three by Myles (Garrett), breaks his own Browns record; pretty special, just how all those guys were rushing, just the D-line in general, just harassing," Stefanski said via Russo.

"IB (Isaiah Bond), Samp had a big play. […] Shedeur (Sanders), his first start, to go out there and be able to make some plays, like he is with all young players, these guys are learning every rep you learn from, and he'll learn from this game as well. […] We talked about all week about being resilient together, and I thought they did that. They showed that they played that way."

Without Collins, the Browns defense will have to make adjustments. They have kept the team in the contest against the Niners, but Shedeur Sanders and the offense will have to make some noise to complement their defense.