Gabriel Knapton (born May 10, 1989) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional gridiron football

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

who is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He played for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) from 2018 to 2019.

College career

Knapton played college football for the

Wyoming Cowboys The Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls are the athletic teams that represent the University of Wyoming, located in Laramie. Wyoming is a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW) and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 17 NCAA-sanctioned sports ...

from 2007 to 2011. He was named an All-Mountain West Conference Honorable Mention for the 2010 season. In 2011, Knapton was named Second Team All-Mountain West.

Professional career

Knapton played for the

Colorado Ice Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

in 2013. In 11 regular season games, Knapton recorded 81 tackles and 9 sacks, and was recognized as a first team All-IFL player. Knapton signed with the

in June 2014. Following a strong season for Montreal, Knapton was honored as the team's rookie of the year, and being nominated for the league rookie of the year in the process. Knapton recorded 9 sacks and a forced fumble, plus one more sack in the playoffs. Knapton had two more strong campaigns for Montreal, with 11 sacks in 2015 and 9 more in 2016. 2017 was a down year for Knapton statistically, with only 3 sacks in 17 games played. In December 2017, following the end of the season Montreal traded Knapton to the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

in exchange for Chris Williams. Knapton played in 8 games for BC in 2018, recording 15 tackles, the first special teams tackle of his CFL career, and one more sack. However, after acquiring Shawn Lemon in a trade, BC released Knapton so as to avoid paying the remainder of his contract, which would have become guaranteed after one more week of play. Montreal signed Knapton back on August 27, to help make up for the loss of

Jamaal Westerman Jamaal Akeem Westerman (born February 21, 1985) is a former American football defensive lineman who is currently a college football coach for Rutgers. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college footba ...

in the

Johnny Manziel Johnathan Paul Manziel ( ; born December 6, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) and was also a me ...

trade, and injuries to

Jabar Westerman Jabar Akil Westerman (born May 13, 1989) is a professional defensive lineman for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Westerman played college football with the Eastern Michigan Eagles football, Eastern Michigan Eagles fo ...

. Knapton rebounded well in five games for Montreal, recording a sack in three consecutive games to end his season, as well as his 200th career tackle. After several weeks of CFL free agency, Knapton signed a one-year extension with Montreal on April 4, 2019, coinciding with Jabar Westerman's release. However, by the end of training camp, Knapton was released by the Alouettes. Following the regular season, Knapton was signed back to Montreal's practice roster, later being activated to the active roster for the playoffs.

References

External links

BC Lions bio
1989 births Living people American football defensive linemen Canadian football defensive linemen Sportspeople from Weld County, Colorado Players of American football from Colorado American players of Canadian football Wyoming Cowboys football players Colorado Crush (IFL) players Montreal Alouettes players BC Lions players {{Canadianfootball-defensive-lineman-stub