Seattle Seahawks linebacker Austin Calitro quietly had a nice season as a fill-in starter and special teamer last year.
However, after the Seahawks re-signed K.J. Wright and Mychal Kendricks and drafted Cody Barton and Ben Burr-Kirven, it looked like his roster spot might be in jeopardy heading into the 2019 season.
Calitro refused to lay down and give up though, as his performance in Saturday’s preseason contest against the Chargers clearly showed.
Calitro earned an overall 90.3 grade as a defender in 15 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Calitro recorded two solo tackles and three combined, finishing tied for second on the team despite only playing in 15 snaps.
His performance on Sunday brought his overall preseason grade up to an outstanding 89.0, which is first among all 69 linebackers who have at least 75 total snaps.
“Austin has taken another step forward,” coach Pete Carroll commented last week. “He’s a very aggressive football player. Now he’s involved in all of the calls and where he understands what he’s doing. Last year, he was kind of scrambling to try and get it done. He’s doing a much better in that regard.”
The Seahawks are no doubt going to go into the 2019 season with Bobby Wagner, Wright and Kendricks as their starting trio.
Barton and Burr-Kirven are expected to serve as backups and valuable special teamers, but Calitro has done more than enough to make sure he remains on the roster when roster cuts occur at the end of the month.
