Brent Just/Electric Umbrella
The chance to be a Buc — not the opportunity to make more bucks — ultimately is what sent Jeff Knox Jr., to the NFL.
The 25-year-old product of Pittsburgh signed this off-season with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, bringing an end to his CFL career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders after two seasons.
Knox signed a three-year futures contract with the Buccaneers.
“It has never been about the money for me,” the linebacker said while visiting his agent’s office in Washington, D.C. “It has always been about chasing a dream.
“(The NFL opportunity) means a lot to me and my family,” he added. “It has been a dream since I was a kid. I’ll finally get an opportunity to showcase my talent on that level and I’m ready to show that I can play.”
Knox signed with the Roughriders in May of 2015 after playing collegiately at California University of Pennsylvania. The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder wasn’t selected in the 2014 NFL draft, so Saskatchewan represented his first opportunity to play pro football.
He registered a team-best 114 defensive tackles as a CFL rookie in 2015 and added 10 special-teams stops, two fumble returns, one interception and a blocked kick.
His efforts earned him team nominations for three league awards: Most outstanding player, most outstanding defensive player and most outstanding rookie. He also was named a West Division all-star.
Injuries hindered Knox at the start of the 2016 season, but he still managed 65 defensive tackles, 20 special-teams takedowns and one quarterback sack over 17 games played.
Knox said he heard from 11 NFL teams after the season and he had workouts with the Buccaneers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts.
He was to become a CFL free agent on Feb. 14, but the Roughriders released him Jan. 14 so that he could sign with the Bucs.
“It was very difficult (to leave Saskatchewan),” Knox said. “It was probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve made in a long time. I sat down with my family and my agent and it wasn’t easy.
“Right now, I’m out on a limb because nothing’s guaranteed in football. Even if I had come back to the Riders, nothing was guaranteed. It probably would have been more secure if I had come back, but I’m a gambler. I like to take my chances.”
Knox chose Tampa Bay because he got a good vibe when he went to the Florida city for a visit. His agent also has a good relationship with the Buccaneers’ brain trust, so he and Knox felt the player would get a fair shake in Tampa.
“I hope I can show who I am and not just be a roster number,” Knox said. “I know I’ve still got to prove myself like I had to do with the Riders and make the team, but I like my odds.”
Knox noted he learned “more than anybody will ever know” during his time in Saskatchewan, both on the field and off. But he couldn’t possibly say no when an NFL team offered him a contract.
“No offence to anyone, but it was never my dream to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to go play Canadian football,’ ’’ Knox said. “Those were the only people who gave me a chance to play football and gave me an opportunity to be a star in that league.
“When an opportunity presented itself (in the NFL), I talked to the (Saskatchewan) coaching staff. They felt it was going to be a great opportunity for me, so we made the decision.”
Knox wasn’t the only pending Roughriders free agent to sign with an NFL team this off-season.
Otha Foster III also was released before hitting the free-agent market, a move that allowed the linebacker — who was named the Roughriders’ most outstanding defensive player in 2016 — to sign with Baltimore.
Unlike Knox, Foster had a cup of coffee in the NFL before venturing north to the CFL. An undrafted free agent coming out of college, Foster signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and played three pre-season games with them in 2013.
Foster then had CFL stops with the Edmonton Eskimos (2014-15) and Roughriders (2016).
