Tag: Christian Covington

Broncos acquire LB Austin Calitro in trade with Bengals

The Broncos have traded a defensive lineman to the Bengals in exchange for linebacker Cincinnati Bengals.

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.

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Report: Bengals trade for Broncos DT Christian Covington

The Cincinnati Bengals made a trade Friday before trimming the roster.

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The Cincinnati Bengals are using some creative measures as they work down to the 53-man limit by Saturday’s deadline.

According to a new report, the Bengals have traded linebacker Austin Calitro to the Denver Broncos in exchange for defensive tackle Christian Covington.

ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported the news.

Calitro, a waiver claim by the Bengals earlier this year, was a longshot to make the final 53 after the team used three draft picks on linebackers in the draft and added Josh Bynes in free agency.

Covington, a sixth-round pick in 2015, is an add to reinforce a shaky defensive tackle spot that lost Ryan Glasgow and Renell Wren already. He’s the latest new arrival there alongside free-agent add Mike Daniels.

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Denver Broncos depth chart prediction: Defensive line

Which defensive linemen will make the Broncos’ 53-man roster this year?

As we continue our 2020 depth chart prediction series for the Denver Broncos, today we’re going to be looking at the defensive line.

Previously, we predicted the QB, RB, TE, WR and OL depth charts.

DE NT DE
Shelby Harris Mike Purcell Jurrell Casey
Dre’Mont Jones McTelvin Agim DeMarcus Walker
Joel Heath Kyle Peko Christian Covington
Jonathan Harris

It’s pretty easy to predict the Broncos’ starting lineup. Harris and Purcell will likely keep their starting spots and Casey will presumably fill the role previously held by Derek Wolfe. It’s the backup spots that are undetermined.

Jones and Walker figure to serve as important rotational pieces and Agim is essentially a lock to make the team after being selected in the third round of April’s draft.

Last year, Denver carried six defensive linemen on the initial 53-man roster. If that’s the case again in 2020, Covington and Heath might only make the team if one of the team’s top six defensive linemen suffers an injury this summer. Peko and Harris figure to be longshots as well.

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Here are Christian Covington’s contract details with Broncos

Here’s how much salary cap space the Broncos have left after signing defensive lineman Christian Covington.

The details of Christian Covington’s one-year contract with the Broncos are now known.

Covington’s contract is worth $1.5 million, including a $1.25 million base salary, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. Of that $1.5 million, $625,000 is guaranteed. Covington can also earn $250,000 through per-game roster bonuses, according to Klis.

Covington (6-2, 300 pounds) has totaled 93 tackles and 8.5 sacks in five seasons, playing mostly as a rotational defensive lineman.

In Denver, Covington will join a defensive line room that already includes Shelby Harris, Mike Purcell, Jurrell Casey, DeMarcus Walker, Dre’Mont Jones and McTelvin Agim. Last year, the Broncos carried six defensive linemen on their initial 53-man roster.

After adding in Covington’s cap hit, OverTheCap.com estimates that Denver has $17,250,120 in remaining 2020 salary cap space. The Broncos still have to sign their 10-player draft class but the team could make a few more bargain signings if they want to.

Denver will likely want to have around $10 million in cap space going into the season to sign injury replacements. If they do not use all of their 2020 cap space, unused cap will roll over and be added to the team’s 2021 cap total.

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Check out these highlights of new Broncos DL Christian Covington

Here are highlights of new Broncos defensive lineman Christian Covington.

Newly signed Broncos defensive lineman Christian Covington spent the last two seasons with the Cowboys and Texans after playing college football at Rice. Here are some highlights from Covington’s college days:

To watch a film breakdown of Covington’s time in Houston, click here.

Covington will be joining a defensive line rotation in Denver that already includes Jurrell Casey, Mike Purcell, Shelby Harris, Dre’Mont Jones, DeMarcus Walker and third-round draft pick McTelvin Agim.

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Broncos agree to terms with DL Christian Covington

The Broncos are signing defensive lineman Christian Covington.

The Denver Broncos have agreed to terms with defensive lineman Christian Covington, the team announced Tuesday. Denver will need to make a corresponding move to create a spot for Covington on the roster.

The one-year deal is worth up to $1.75 million and includes $625,000 guaranteed, according to SiriusXM NFL Radio’s Adam Caplan.

Covington (6-2, 300 pounds) entered the league as a sixth-round draft pick out of Rice with the Houston Texans in 2015. After spending the first four years of his career in Houston, Covington signed a one-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys last season.

He dressed for all 16 games with Dallas last year, earning six starts. Covington totaled 28 tackles, one sack and one pass breakup with the Cowboys. In his career, Covington has recorded 93 tackles, 8.5 sacks, two pass breakups and one forced fumble.

Covington’s best season came in 2018 when he totaled 15 tackles and 3.5 sacks in Houston. In Denver, he will join a defensive line rotation that already includes Jurrell Casey, Mike Purcell, Shelby Harris, Dre’Mont Jones, DeMarcus Walker and third-round draft pick McTelvin Agim.

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Whitney Mercilus, Christian Covington aided Texans DE J.J. Watt’s recovery from torn pectoral

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said that he talked to Christian Covington and Whitney Mercilus about recovering from a torn pectoral.

Torn pectorals are not an uncommon injury for defensive linemen and pass rushers. Being that the chest is integral to upper body strength while beating blocks, one bad twist, turn or flex can end one’s season.

For Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, the injury ended his season on Oct. 27 against the Oakland Raiders, until it didn’t. Surprisingly he returned to practice on Tuesday. He is expected to play in the postseason after recovering from the injury in two months, beating the expected recovery by one to two months.

Watt employed the help of one former and one current teammate to aid his recovery. He talked to former Texans — and current Dallas Cowboys — defensive end Christian Covington and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus about it.

“I talked to him (Whitney Mercilus) a little bit early on about it,” Watt said on Tuesday. “I talked to Cov (Christian Covington) about it, Cov was here last year. I’ve talked to a couple of guys about it and just their experience and just doing whatever I can. That’s all it’s been the last two months. ‘Whatever I’m allowed to do.’ Whatever the doctors and training staff have said I can do, that’s what I’ve done.”

Covington has not torn his pectoral. However, he has suffered a devastating season-ending, upper-body injury.  On Oct. 30, 2017, in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks, he sustained a torn bicep, marking the end of a promising year.

Mercilus suffered a torn pectoral earlier in the same season. He did so on Oct. 9, 2017, in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The outside linebacker did not return, sustaining an ailment that saw his muscle come off the bone.

Unlike both Covington and Mercilus, Watt is back. His recovery time is improbable. However, that didn’t stop him from blowing away expectations, partly thanks to a pair of teammates, former and current.