ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos remain busy as they iron out the final wrinkles on their 53-man roster.
The list must be set by Saturday at 2 p.m., leaving tough decisions to resolve.
Denver made one Friday, sending defensive lineman Christian Covington to Cincinnati for linebacker Austin Calitro, per multiple sources. I projected Covington as a casualty on my projected 53-man roster, losing his roster spot to DeMarcus Walker. Ultimately, that is how it played out.
Scheduled to make $1.5 million, Covington was shipped to the Bengals for a player well-versed in special teams, which carries significant value when filling out the final roster spots. Calitro spent time with the Jaguars and Seahawks the past two seasons, posting 81 tackles and 1.5 sacks as a reserve.
Calitro, 26, could impact how the inside linebacker spot looks. In my final roster, I have the Broncos keeping Todd Davis, Alexander Johnson, Josey Jewell, Mark Barron and Joe Jones. It's possible Calitro could make Jones expendable. I noted that Davis' situation bears watching because of his $5 million salary, and the team's reliance on sub packages.
This represents the Broncos' second trade this week. The Broncos sent cornerback Isaac Yiadom, who was beaten out by undrafted free agent Essang Bassey, to the New York Giants for a seventh-round pick. ESPN first reported the Covington trade.
The Broncos practice tonight at 7:30 at Empower Field at Mile High, a final dress rehearsal before beginning game preparations for the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 14.
