The Cleveland Browns have opened 2026 training camp in Berea, and while the focus of the nest month or so will be the battle to win the QB1 job, there are plenty of other storylines worth noting. The primary non-quarterback story is the Cleveland defense, which lost its two primary pillars in the last six months: star edge rusher Myles Garrett (traded to the Rams) and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz (who left the team after not getting the head-coaching job). Tucked into that storyline, though, is the health after surgery of defensive lineman Maliek Collins.
In the big picture, Collins does not have the name recognition established by some of his defensive peers over the years, but he had a remarkable season in 2025, when he started 12 games and had the best year of his career–at age 30, with 10 seasons of experience behind him. Collins had a career-high 6.5 sacks, and his Pro Football Focus grade (74.5) was the highest of his career and 12th among all defensive lineman.
But Collins went down in Week 12 with a quad injury that required surgery and ended his year.
Maliek Collins ‘Looks Great’
Now, Collins is starting training camp on the physically unable to perform list, which was the expectation for the Browns. They’re not out to hurry Collins back to the field as he rehabs. But unlike the injured list during the season, Collins can come back to practice at any time.
And Browns head coach Todd Monken had an encouraging update for Collins’ status on Wednesday, though he was not prepared to say when he might be back.
Said Monken: “Too early to say, but he looks great. I mean watching him outside, he’s done an unbelievable job this offseason with his rehabilitation, being down in Houston with his family. The first day we had the young guys here, shoot, I thought he was ready then. I won’t speak for him, I won’t speak for our medical staff, but I do anticipate that if we don’t have any setbacks, at some point we’ll have him.”
Big Test for Browns’ Mike Rutenberg
Collins does figure to be a telling test case for new Browns defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg, because his sudden burst in production came in large part because of the way he was deployed by Schwartz in 2025. It helped, too, that he was lining up alongside Garrett, and whether the current Browns defense can crate that same level of impact across the board is a fair question.
First Collins–one of the league’s best-value players–needs to get back on the field. As Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com noted, he will almost certainly be back for the season.
“[Maliek] Collins, heading into the final year of his two-year, $20 million deal, is back working out at Browns headquarters, and is expected to be ready for the season. If he can pick up where he left off last year, the Browns won’t miss Lawrence this season. He was, in fact, the Browns best defensive tackle in 2025, and an excellent mentor for the younger tackles,” Cabot wrote.
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