"I'm not really understanding why a guy like me, and what I bring to a team and what I bring to the field, is bouncing around like this," Knighton said Tuesday on Sirius XM. "But it'll catch up with itself."
Knighton said that he hasn't had any discussions with Washington during the exclusive negotiation period. He felt he came on toward the end of the 2015 season after adjusting to a very different responsibility in defensive coordinator Joe Barry's attacking 3-4 system. Knighton sees himself as a more traditional two-gap clogger.
"I haven't gotten any hint that they want me back or anything," he said. "To me personally. I haven't heard anything. And like I said, that's one thing I'm not going to stress about. Last time around I was hoping that something could get done with Denver and I was praying on that, I was talking it up all the time whenever I talked to the media because I felt in my heart that's where I was going to be. My emotions got caught into it. This time around, I understand it's a business."
A business that is also leading him to believe that the Redskins might be looking for a different kind of nose tackle.
"Maybe that's where the disconnect is right now as far as bringing me back," he said.
Knighton represents the downside to being a great, traditional 3-4 nose tackle. Because many are only on the field for one or two downs, they often get left out in terms of lucrative, multi-year deals. Knighton was very effective against the run, but played almost 200 fewer snaps in 2015 (345) than he did in Denver the year before.
The good news, though, is that Knighton's position is never not a necessity for certain teams. If the Jets lose Damon Harrison, for example, he's right back at the top of the market for his position.
