Seahawks News: Bengals claim Austin Calitro

We knew that the Cincinnati Bengals would be striving to clean up the waiver wire after the final cuts, and we continue to receive new information on this.

The team added offensive midfielder Samaje Perine and receiver Pharoh Cooper, as well as interest in Wendell Smallwood. We learn that they also aim to eventually strengthen the defense with the former linebacker of the Seahawks, Austin Calitro.

Calitro was a virgin Villanova player who had landed with the Jets in the spring of 2017. He then found himself against the Seahawks, 49ers and Browns that season. He did not record any statistics as a rookie as he was part of the training teams for Seattle and Cleveland.

The Browns abandoned it in the summer of 2018 and it was taken over by the Seahawks. As Field Yates noted, Calitro was intercepted by Jacksonville a few days ago.

He started five games and played all 16 games last year in Seattle. In 2018, Calitro had a half-sack, 45 tackles and a defended pass. He is first and foremost an indoor linebacker, but he has some versatility, as he comes from the Seahawks type 3-4 hybrid defense.

Linebacker was and remains one of the weakest positions in the Bengals lineup. They currently have only four players out of the 53 men in the position, while Hardy Nickerson was one of the cuts to make room for Cooper and Perine's additions.

Calitro would have been a substitute for defense rotation and a special teams player for the Bengals. As things stand, Lou Anarumo's unit has only Nick Vigil, Preston Brown, Germaine Pratt and Jordan Evans in the position group.

Even with the two waivers granted to the Bengals, common sense makes us believe that Zac Taylor has not finished tinkering with the list. There will probably be an addition after a match or two, and the linebacker is one of the best spots for a potential acquisition.