Las Vegas Raiders signed defensive tackle Maliek Collins and the details of his contract have been revealed and it is a steal for the Silver and Black
The Las Vegas Raiders were in need of some depth at the defensive tackle position so they went out and signed one of the better players available on the market in Maliek Collins. The former Dallas Cowboy was ranked by The Athletic as the 36th best free agent available on the market and the fourth ranked defensive tackle.
The details of Collins’ contract were not immediately available but they have been revealed by NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
According to Rapoport, Maliek Collins signed a one-year deal worth $6 million with $5.75 million of it fully guaranteed. Collins can also earn up $7.5 million if he hits certain incentives specified in his contract language.
We don’t know what the specifics those incentives are but generally they are based on performance or on a player taking a certain percentage of a team’s offensive or defensive snaps. In three of four seasons with the Cowboys Collins played in 16 games and was on the field for more than 60% of the defensive snaps so durability should be of little concern for the Raiders.
Collins’ base contract of $6 million ranks him close to 30th among defensive tackles and even if he hits the top-end of $7.5 million he would still be in that range. That is excellent value for the Raiders as there are few defensive tackles that have matched Collins’ production since he entered the league in 2016.
Collins has recorded 14.5 sacks, 84 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, and 40 QB hits in four years and only 14 other tackles have done so in that same span. To be fair Collins is at the bottom of that list in production but the names such as a Ndamukong Suh, Malik Jackson, Jurrell Casey, and Kawann Short show the sort of statistical company that he has kept despite making significantly less money.
The signing of Maliek Collins is another shrewd move by Mike Mayock and the Raiders brass as they add a young player who has put up close to star-level production and has much to prove in search of his first big payday. Whether that is in Las Vegas or elsewhere is still to be seen but his deal with the Raiders gives him the chance to earn that massive contract with little risk for Silver and Black.