The Denver Broncos have agreed to trade defensive lineman Christian Covington to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for linebacker Austin Calitro, according to ESPN’s Dianna Russini.
Unless more details emerge regarding swapped draft picks, this was a straight player-for-player trade ahead of roster cuts on Saturday. Covington was unlikely to make Denver’s 53-man roster and Calitro probably wasn’t going to survive cuts in Cincinnati given that they were willing to trade him.
The Bengals needed more depth on the defensive line and the Broncos were able to give up Covington because they are deep at the position. Denver needed more depth at linebacker with Todd Davis still recovering from a calf injury.
It remains to be seen if Calitro’s arrival will impact the roster status of linebacker Mark Barron, who signed with the Broncos earlier this week. Barron might still be safe as Denver’s coverage linebacker given that Calitro seems to be a better fit to defend the run and play on special teams.
Calitro, 26, totaled 39 tackles and one sack with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 13 games last season. He played in all 16 games with the Seattle Seahawks in 2019, totaling 42 tackles and half a sack.
The Broncos’ six-man defensive line now appears to be set with Jurrell Casey, Mike Purcell, Shelby Harris, Dre’Mont Jones, DeMarcus Walker and McTelvin Agim. Denver’s linebacker depth chart will be sorted out after roster cuts this weekend.
