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Denver Broncos: Austin Calitro acquired for Christian Covington

By Graham Tiedtke

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 22: Austin Calitro #58 of the Jacksonville Jaguars looks on prior to taking the field to face the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 22: Austin Calitro #58 of the Jacksonville Jaguars looks on prior to taking the field to face the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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The Denver Broncos sent DL Christian Covington to the Bengals for LB Austin Calitro.

As all 32 teams in the NFL form their 53-man rosters, the Denver Broncos have made a move on the defensive side of the ball.

The team has sent defensive lineman Christian Covington to the Cincinnati Bengals for inside linebacker Austin Calitro.

The former undrafted free agent has spent time on several rosters since entering the league in 2017 out of Villanova:

  • 2017: New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns.
  • 2018: Seahawks
  • 2019: Jacksonville Jaguars
  • 2020: Bengals.

The Broncos have been interested in Calitro in the past, having put in a waiver claim for him a couple of times dating back to a year ago.

As Sayre Bedinger examined, the acquisition of Calitro could spell bad news for former third-round pick Josey Jewell, who has seen his playing time at a minimum since entering the league out of Iowa.

Jewell was a fourth-round pick in 2018 for the Broncos.

Calitro has not seen a ton of playing time, but has experience in his young NFL career. In the last two years, he has played a total of 516 snaps. In 2018, he played 29 percent of the Seahawks’ defensive snaps. In 2019, that number decreased to 22 percent with the Jaguars. Where he played the most was on special teams, as he saw 429 snaps there in the last two years.

The Broncos have made some very necessary adjustments to their inside linebacker group. With rookie Justin Strnad out for the season and Todd Davis missing time due to injury, they also added former first-round pick Mark Barron, who can play linebacker as well as safety.

Next. Predicting Broncos roster cuts ahead of Saturday. dark

It remains to be seen whether or not these acquisitions will be a big help in the team’s coverage on defense. Hopefully, Calitro will be able to make an impact on the team if/when called upon.

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