Bengals trading Austin Calitro to Broncos for Christian Covington, per report

For the first time since 2017, the Bengals are trading away one of their players.

The Bengals are dealing linebacker Austin Calitro for defensive tackle Christian Covington, per NFL insider Dianna Russini.

The Bengals claimed Calitro off of waivers earlier this offseason. They originally attempted to claim him at the beginning of the 2019 season but were unsuccessful.

Covington signed a one-year, $1.75 million deal with the Denver Broncos this offseason shortly after the 2020 NFL Draft. He was a a sixth-round pick by the Houston Texans from the 2015 NFL Draft and spent his first four season there. He then spent a year with the Dallas Cowboys in 2019 before leaving for Denver this offseason.

While with the Texans, Covington played on the same defensive line as D.J. Reader, who the Bengals signed to a mega deal this year. At 6-2, 305 pounds, Covington has played pretty much every technique along the defensive line in his five-year career. Considering how much depth the Bengals lost at that position group this past month, Covington will be expected to fill multiple roles this year.

In 66 career games, Covington has recorded 93 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 8.5 sacks. His average season defense grade from Pro Football Focus is a solid 71.1.

As for Calitro, the third-year linebacker was questionable to make it through final cuts on Saturday. Dealing away a player that was probably going to be waived for another that will make the roster is a bonafide success of a transaction.

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