Following a humiliating 26-8 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, the Cleveland Browns (3-9), remain in last place in the AFC North, with five games left in the regular season schedule. They will resume play against the Tennnessee Titans (1-11) in Week 14, but they got some more bad news on Monday.
NFL Insider Ian Rapopor t posted on social media that defensive tackle Maliek Collins is out for the rest of 2025 with a quad injury during the shellacking from the 'Niners.
"#Browns impressive DT Maliek Collins suffered a significant, season-ending quad injury on Sunday, coach Kevin Stefanski said," Rapoport reported on X. Collins was having a career year with 13 QB hits and 6.5 sacks.
MORE: Is Shedeur Sanders being held back by the Browns or by his own last name?
That spells trouble for a Browns' defensive unit that has been forced to pick up the slack for an offense that has mostly struggled. Cleveland has 3,096 total offensive yards for the season, averaging 4.1 yards per play, and has scored just 16.2 points per game.
Browns defense has taken its hits
Meanwhile, the Browns defense has been the total opposite of the inept offense. They rank second in the NFL in total yards allowed per game (271.3) and are second in the league for sacks (43). In the team's three victories on the year, the defense has only allowed 26 total points scored.
While the team still has all-world defensive end Myles Garrett, the loss of the lineman puts even more pressure on that side of the ball. Considering the Browns' offense being underwheming with Shedeur Sanders at the helm, they may be on the field a lot more than expected.
That's the quandary head coach Kevin Stefanski has left to deal with for the rest of the season. The Browns are out of layoff contention and guaranteed yet another losing season, so the loss of a star player from a side of strength is almost fitting. It's just another sign that this long, lost year only seems to get worse as it goes along.