The Browns met with the agent for linebacker Jamie Collins at the Scouting Combine and the topic of the conversation was Collins’ future with the team.

Collins had two years left on the contract he signed with the team in 2017 and the terms for 2019 called for him to make a $10 million base salary while counting $11.75 million against the cap. The obvious implication of the conversation was that the Browns wanted to pay him less or not at all this season and Collins gave a hint about how that went when he tweeted “thanks for everything” to the team on Wednesday.

The Browns made it official a short time later by announcing that they have released Collins. The move creates $9.25 million in cap space.

“We want to thank Jamie for his contributions to the Cleveland Browns,” General Manager John Dorsey said in a statement. “These types of decisions are never easy. Jamie is a respected veteran player in this league and we wish him the best as he continues his career.”

Collins arrived in Cleveland in a midseason trade with the Patriots in 2016. He started 30 games, including every game that Cleveland played last season. He had 104 tackles, four sacks, an interception and a forced fumble in those 16 starts.