The free agent told Sirius XM that he hasn't "gotten the feeling" that the Broncos want him back amid a report that he had racked up an unprecedented $300,000 in weight-related fines over the last two seasons.
The perfectly nicknamed "Pot Roast" is listed at 335 pounds, but that's widely considered to be generous. In 2012 he "slimmed down" to 350 pounds. Before the season Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post reported that Knighton appeared to have gained some of that weight back. When Hochman asked him to put a number on how much he weighed, Knighton joked, "Just put three-asterisk-asterisk."
During the offseason he poked fun at his waistline in a Bridgestone tires commercial where he has to rush out of the house because the fridge is empty.
According to Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman, his weight has been a serious sticking point for the team. The Broncos think Knighton can be the best player in the league at his position, Freeman reports, but he can't keep his weight in check:
You will not see any fat jokes here.
There is nothing but sympathy for Knighton, but the Broncos do face an
interesting problem. So do other teams looking at Knighton, who will be a
free agent beginning in March.
I'm told the Broncos believe that for
Knighton to be effective, his weight has to be under control, but he
can't quite keep it under control, thus the dilemma. If Knighton could
slim down, the Broncos believe he could be the best interior defensive
lineman in football.
Knighton's fines came from "missing weight markers," Freeman reports, which is allowed under NFL rules.Knighton still played about half his team's snaps in 2014. At age 28, he could still have a long career ahead of him.
He has struggled with his weight throughout his career. When he played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was told to lose weight before the 2012 season. The team let him go in free agency after the season, and he signed with Denver on a relatively cheap $4.5 million contract. A similar thing appears to be happening going into the 2015 offseason.
