The BC Lions announced on Wednesday that they have signed Canadian defensive lineman Christian Covington. Covington is originally from Vancouver and will now play in the CFL for the first time after 9 years in the NFL.

“It’s truly an honour to come home and play in front of my friends and family,” Covington stated. “I’ve continued to follow the Lions throughout my professional career and it gives me great excitement to join the team at a pivotal time in franchise history. We all understand and embrace the goal of bringing the Grey Cup back home.”

Christian Covington – Rice (30 y/o, 6’2, 300)

Covington played his collegiate ball with Rice University where he played in 33 games contributing 122 total tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and 4 pass breakups.

Following his collegiate career he was drafted by the Houston Texans in the 6th round of the 2015 NFL Draft 216th overall. He was also selected by the BC Lions in the 5th round of the CFL Draft 43rd overall but would spend many years in the NFL.

Covington played for the Houston Texans from 2015 to 2019 appearing in 50 games with the franchise. He played for the Dallas Cowboys in 2019 playing in all 16 games. He played 16 games for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020 and 16 games for the LA Chargers in 2021. He appeared in 4 games in the 2022 season with the Chargers.

Overall, Covington has played in 102 NFL regular season games recording 106 solo tackles, 90 assisted tackles, 9.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles.

Covington was with the Detroit Lions through the 2023 training camp and preseason although he was released just ahead of the regular season. He had 5 total tackles and half a sack over 3 preseason games last year. He spent the 2023 season on the LA Chargers practice squad following his release from Detroit.

Christian Covington was born and raised in Vancouver. He is the son of Grover Covington who is the all-time leader in sacks in the CFL with 157 sacks.

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