Leaves Texas after nine years in college and pros
After spending his first nine years in American football all in Texas, Christian Covington is moving closer to his original Vancouver home.
The six-year NFL defensive tackle on Tuesday agreed to terms with the Denver Broncos on a one-year contract, the club announced.
Reports said he’ll earn $1.75 million — well above the new $910,000 league minimum for a player with his experience — with $625,000 guaranteed.
“Blessed and Thankful!! God is Good!!” Covington tweeted Tuesday afternoon once news got out.
Covington, the son of Canadian Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman Grover Covington, previously played four seasons with the Houston Texans and last season with Dallas Cowboys. This, after having spent four years in Houston while attending Rice University, where he played on scholarship for the Owls.
In the NFL, the 6-foot-2, 300-pound interior D-lineman has appeared in 66 regular-season and four playoff games, racking up 8.5 sacks, forcing one fumble while being credited with 93 solo or partial tackles, mostly as a rotational substitute.
The Texans drafted Covington in the sixth round in 2015 and he played mostly nose tackle in Romeo Crennel’s 3-4 base defence, flanked often times by star pass rushers J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus. Covington started nine times in Houston, until his rookie contract expired a year ago.
The Cowboys then signed him to a one-year deal. He mostly played defensive tackle in Dallas’ 4-3 base defence. Injuries played a part in his starting six games.
Now Covington returns to a 3-4 base defence in Denver, under head coach and chief defensive strategist Vic Fangio. Presumably Covington will back up starting nose tackle Mike Purcell.
A graduate of Vancouver College Prep in 2011, Covington is now 26 years old.
@JohnKryk
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