The shock is still present.
People remain in disbelief that the Denver Broncos let one of their most popular players walk. A guy some feel was crucial to the success of the defense. Prior to the start of NFL free agency, he was the guy most said was the second most important to re-sign.
But it never happened.
Then it didn’t happen with the Oakland Raiders.
Then it didn’t happen with the Chicago Bears.
Terrance Knighton would sign with the Washington football team for a one-year deal. As soon as the parameters for the contract were announced, “The Broncos couldn’t have done that?”
Two aspects are in play here: the importance of Knighton to the defense and a younger player the organization feels is superior in talent.
Knighton played less than 50 percent of the snaps as a defensive tackle last season. How can John Elway justify a $4 million cap hit to a guy who stands on the sideline half of the game? Knighton is a decent defensive tackle but he’s not a three-down player. He’s not a game-changer.
Part of the problem is he was so good with the media, and he really is a great guy. Knighton’s response to the Ray Rice fiasco endeared him even more to the good graces of Broncos Country.
But what were the Broncos going to get from Knighton they didn’t already get?
Enter third-year defensive tackle Sylvester Williams.
“When we look at Sly, and obviously we’re thrilled by his continued work and his progression, but this is a big year for him,” Elway told Broncos TV at the NFL owners meetings on Monday in Phoenix. “We’ve got high expectations of him and what we’re going to do to best give him a chance to show what he can do with a new coaching staff.”
John Fox’s inability to develop younger players like Williams is one of the main reasons why he is no longer coach in Denver.
There’s no question the pressure is on. Williams not only has to perform at a high level and prove Elway was right to draft him in the first round (and show this belief in him now), but he has to replace a popular guy in the locker room and in the community.
Based on Williams’ attitude, he’s on the right path. Does the phrase, “kicking and screaming” ring a bell?
“This is going to be the most excited I’ve been going into a year, really my entire two-year career,” he said in an interview with the Broncos website. “There’s a lot of pressure on me, but to be honest, I’m happy to have that pressure. I’m just excited that the coaches really believe in me in giving me a shot to prove myself.”
The other big aspect in all of this is the coaching staff Williams now gets to work with. It’s the same coaching staff who helped develop J.J. Watt into what he is — namely defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and defensive line coach Bill Kollar.
“I think we’re going to have a rotation,” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said at the league meetings. “If you look at most fronts, defensively, in the National Football League — if you’re a 3-4 team people are playing five, six guys a game and they are rotating them. So we have to put a good group together. I know one thing: we have one helluva coach in Kollar. He will get the most out of them. It’s obviously a priority as we move forward but we’ll play a lot of people.”
That’s not to say Kollar will make Williams the next Watt. What that means is the Broncos coaches and front office believe the ceiling is higher for him than, say, Knighton.
“We expect Sly to take big steps for us this year,” Elway said, “because we’re going to be relying on him.”
For now, the shock over the departure of Knighton looms over Broncos Country. Most question how Denver will replace such a key cog to the defense with a guy whom most deem a bust.
Come July and August, that sentiment will vanish in the hot summer air.
