When Jack Del Rio was the head coach in Jacksonville, the team drafted defensive tackle Terrance Knighton and he then coached him again when Knighton signed with the Broncos while Del Rio was the defensive coordinator in Denver.
Del Rio has now moved back up the ladder to take over as the head coach in Oakland and Knighton is set to become a free agent next month, leaving some to wonder if the man they call Pot Roast will join Del Rio for a third stop on their joint tour of the National Football League. Del Rio was asked about the possibility on Wednesday and said that Knighton is the kind of player you need to succeed defensively at the professional level.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously we drafted him, we thought at that time he was kind of a dancing bear type,” Del Rio said, via Jerry McDonald of Bay Area News Group. “Kind of a big powerful man that could stay on his feet and run down the line. This game is about big, powerful men, so that the guys that have the skill level can do their things. This big, powerful man played well in Jacksonville. We got back together, he played well in Denver and so I appreciate that, I respect that. We have to have those kinds of people in our trenches, in our offensive and defensive line, in order to play the kind of football we expect to play.”
The defensive line is expected to be a focus for the Raiders this offseason and Knighton’s long history with Del Rio makes him an obvious candidate to come onboard. The fact that he’s not a fit for the direction Denver’s defense is heading under Wade Phillips and it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Knighton in silver and black next month.
