Pats Sign Big Fat Guy: DT Knighton on a 1-year Deal

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,300
deep inside Guido territory
After visiting with the Washington Redskins on Wednesday, nose tackle Terrance Knighton is leaning toward accepting an offer with the New England Patriots, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Knighton, who played for the Redskins last year, met with the Patriots on Tuesday before visiting with his former team. As the free agency period approached earlier this month, the Redskins informed Knighton they’d be moving on from the run-stuffing veteran, but chose to re-open negotiations after he met with New England.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/30/terrance-knighton-patriots-redskins-offer/
 

Ed Hillel

Wants to be startin somethin
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2007
43,592
Here
Same woman who said Stevie Johnson signed with the Pats, so I will wait for some confirmation here.
 

Joe D Reid

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
4,209
Between Pot Roast and Black Unicorn, they've really upgraded the nickname position this offseason.
 
Apr 7, 2006
2,505
Between his "rotational" comment and the "informed the patriots he will be signing with them" phrasing, it's kind of an unusual posture for an incoming player.
 
Apr 7, 2006
2,505
Twitter-verse says one year, $4.5 mill. I'd have liked to sign Hicks for that per season for two years. Feels like a bit of an overpay, but at least Scott Zolak is excited!

Edit misspelling and clarity
 

TheoShmeo

Skrub's sympathy case
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
12,890
Boston, NY
If Hicks went for 1/$3 mm, this looks a little out of whack. Not that I'm complaining...love this pick up.
 

Dogman

Yukon Cornelius
Moderator
SoSH Member
Mar 19, 2004
15,182
Missoula, MT
Only if you decide you know exactly what he meant with the "rotational" comment. Now that he has signed with NE, it sure looks like his comment was self depreciating. Moreover, saying he "informed the Patriots he will be signing with them" isn't unusual if it means he will sign the offered contract instead of another from a different team.

I don't find his comments unusual at all.
 

Maximus

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
5,774
Nice signing to replace Hicks. Now get Hightower, Collins and Butler extended.
 

E5 Yaz

Transcends message boarding
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Apr 25, 2002
90,032
Oregon
Bill Polian, of all people, said the Patriots had a great FA signing period ... and that was before Knighton.
 

KingChre

New Member
Jul 31, 2009
130
Nice signing to replace Hicks. Now get Hightower, Collins and Butler extended.
They can actually save money against the cap this year by extending Hightower, so I would expect to see that extension announced sooner rather than later. It's going to be tough to extend Collins this off season with all of their FA pickups. Butler is going to have to wait another year, at least (unfortunately for him). If they tender him at the 1st round level in 2017, it's only going to cost them about 4 million, so it doesn't really make any sense whatsoever financially to extend him now.

One could certainly argue that a contract extension now could save some theoretical dollars down the road, but getting a Pro Bowl corner for pennies this year is just too hard to pass up.
 

Jnai

is not worried about sex with goats
SoSH Member
Sep 15, 2007
16,123
<null>
I guess this is one way to dump the Sandoval contract
 

Tyrone Biggums

nfl meets tri-annually at a secret country mansion
SoSH Member
Aug 15, 2006
6,424
Bill Polian, of all people, said the Patriots had a great FA signing period ... and that was before Knighton.
I'm sure it killed him to admit it. They've crushed the offseason. Actually might have a better defense on paper than they did last year which is simply amazing.
 

TheoShmeo

Skrub's sympathy case
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
12,890
Boston, NY
A line of Sheard, Knighton, Brown, and Nink with Long, Branch, and Easley rotating in situationally will do just fine by me.
Here's my question:

If you totally divorce finances and salary cap implications (which I know is impossible, but humor me), are the Pats better or worse off on the football field in 2016 with

- Knighton and Long, and presumably more of Sheard (with Jones around, I assume he would have gotten less reps than he will now)

as compared to

- Hicks and Jones, and presumably less of Sheard (same reason)?

To be clear, I love these moves and fully get that money and cap concerns (and perhaps some off the field stuff) impacted the Jones trade.

But it's not immediately clear to me that the Pats' line is better after these moves. I have not factored in Kearse or Siliga as my assumption is that neither would be a huge swing factor in the equation.

Unrelated: Mea culpa on my Hicks salary gaffe. I read somewhere that Hicks signed for 1/$3 mm...clearly wrong.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,069
Hingham, MA
Here's my question:

If you totally divorce finances and salary cap implications (which I know is impossible, but humor me), are the Pats better or worse off on the football field in 2016 with

- Knighton and Long, and presumably more of Sheard (with Jones around, I assume he would have gotten less reps than he will now)

as compared to

- Hicks and Jones, and presumably less of Sheard (same reason)?

To be clear, I love these moves and fully get that money and cap concerns (and perhaps some off the field stuff) impacted the Jones trade.

But it's not immediately clear to me that the Pats' line is better after these moves. I have not factored in Kearse or Siliga as my assumption is that neither would be a huge swing factor in the equation.

Unrelated: Mea culpa on my Hicks salary gaffe. I read somewhere that Hicks signed for 1/$3 mm...clearly wrong.
I think you have to factor Bennett into the calculus here. Not sure whether the line will be the same, better, or worse, but trading Jones freed up some cap space to trade for Bennett. So from that perspective I think you have to say they are a better team on paper.
 

EL Jeffe

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 30, 2006
1,314
Nick Fairley is the one who signed the 1/$3 mil contract.

I know in size and reputation, Knighton is a NT to clog the middle, but is that his game? My Jaguars friend who has seen way more of Knighton's game than I have said he's a 3-technique who relies more on short area quickness than pure power, despite his size. In fairness, Knighton is a few years removed from his Jaguars stint, so his game may have evolved since then.
 

j44thor

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
10,961
From what I remember of him in Denver he was used to attack gaps instead of occupy blocks but then again I think that is how every Denver d lineman is used. Do recall him being a beast in the afc championship game in Denver a few years ago.

Guess he got fat and lazy in WAS. Supposedly he has lost 30-40lbs this off-season. If we get the den pot roast this could be a great signing, if the was pot roast shows up this will look a lot like the last was dl we signed, fat Albert.
 

TheoShmeo

Skrub's sympathy case
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
12,890
Boston, NY
I think you have to factor Bennett into the calculus here. Not sure whether the line will be the same, better, or worse, but trading Jones freed up some cap space to trade for Bennett. So from that perspective I think you have to say they are a better team on paper.
I agree that the overall question goes way beyond the line and I am totally on board with the moves. Bennett is one reason and the pick and the project lineman from Arizona are others.

Still, I want to see if -- isolating only the line -- people think they will be better or worse than they were a year ago.

One reason why I lean to better is that I think that Sheard playing more is a big factor. If you go by sacks alone (not nearly the only measure), Jones had 4.5 more than Sheard but Sheard got 300 less snaps. Jones also tended to disappear at times and had only 2 sacks in 9 playoff games.
 
Last edited:

dcmissle

Deflatigator
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 4, 2005
28,269
Slide began in Denver, and he signed a short term make good contract with WA that surprised some people. He made good enough for the Redskins to visit with him again, but only after parting ways with him earlier this offseason. He was a one down player, no factor defending the pass, and wore down as the year progressed. My guess is that the 4.5 offered by the Pats was about as good as he was likely to get.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,387
I agree that the overall question goes way beyond the line and I am totally on board with the moves. Bennett is one reason and the pick and the project lineman from Arizona are others.

Still, I want to see if -- isolating only the line -- people think they will be better or worse than they were a year ago.

One reason why I lean to better is that I think that Sheard playing more is a big factor. If you go by sacks alone (not nearly the only measure), Jones had 4.5 more than Sheard but Sheard got 300 less snaps. Jones also tended to disappear at times and had only 2 sacks in 9 playoff games.
Don't take this the wrong way, but I think that it's a little silly to just isolate one piece of the entire team, because decision A impacts decision B, etc. I think you get that.

As far as the line goes, I'd rather have Jones and Hicks than Long and Knighton. But it's entirely possible that Sheard getting more playing time, and the possible emergence of, say, Flowers, may make the line even better.

But put me down as thinking that the defensive line might be a little bit worse on paper. But then again, if we get a fully healthy year from Easley and continued improvement from Brown, they might be significantly better.
 
Apr 7, 2006
2,505
The larger view is less disputable - the Knighton-Long-Sheard-potential-of-Flowers combo makes the defense slightly more iffy, but makes the TEAM (given what it allows Pats to do, cap-wise) better.
 

Phragle

wild card bitches
SoSH Member
Jan 1, 2009
13,154
Carmine's closet
Still, I want to see if -- isolating only the line -- people think they will be better or worse than they were a year ago.
It's worse. Hicks and Jones are better than Knighton and Long. I'm still for trading Jones and signing Long, but it's just not a move designed for this season.

One reason why I lean to better is that I think that Sheard playing more is a big factor. If you go by sacks alone (not nearly the only measure), Jones had 4.5 more than Sheard but Sheard got 300 less snaps. Jones also tended to disappear at times and had only 2 sacks in 9 playoff games.
Hypothetically more Sheard could have happened with Hicks and Jones in 2016.
 

E5 Yaz

Transcends message boarding
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Apr 25, 2002
90,032
Oregon
Mike Reiss ESPN New England Patriots reporter
Terrance Knighton said he had a long talk with Vince Wilfork before signing with the Patriots. He relayed that Wilfork had nothing but good things to say about organization.
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,300
deep inside Guido territory
Terrance Knighton may be more familiar with the history of Gillette Stadium than most new Patriots signees who step into the building for the first time. Born in Hartford, Conn. and a Windsor High alum, Knighton grew up admiring all four major professional sports teams in the area, including coach Bill Belichick's Patriots.

Now, after signing a one-year deal with the team, the 29-year-old defensive tackle has a chance to make a mark on the franchise he watched growing up.

"Being a big fan of guys like Vince Wilfork, Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, just those leaders on defense," Knighton said. "Guys that have won games and won Super Bowls -- Rodney Harrison -- guys that were great leaders on and off the field, and were role models for me growing up and guys who I modeled myself after on the field, like a Vince Wilfork.

"Obviously it's big shoes to fill, and me being a big guy . . . people will look for me to be like a Wilfork replacement, but I'm not thinking about thhat. I'm just going to come in and work hard everyday, and just try to create my own niche in the organization."

Knighton had a chance to hang out with Wilfork recently at the wedding of Broncos corner Aqib Talib. He said the two recently had a long conversation about what it meant to play for the Patriots organization, and eventually Knighton decided it was the place for him.

"He was telling me it's a grind, but at the end of the day, it's football," Knighton said. "But it's a good environment to be around, it's a good building to be in. He had nothing but good things to say about the organization. I'm just excited, and I'm just looking forward to getting in the building and learning as much football as I can and being around the guys."
http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/knighton-looked-wilfork-advice-signing-patriots