Lions trade Chris Williams to Montreal for Gabe Knapton

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B.C.FAN
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It makes sense to trade Williams for help on either side of the line of scrimmage. Knapton had only 3 sacks this year but he is only 28 and he had at least 9 sacks in each of the previous three years.
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CardiacKid
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I love watching Chris Williams play and had high hopes for some scintillating performances while he was in the Leo's fold. Unfortunately it was not to be.....

Even if you had zero expectations of Williams playing like the Williams of previous years, it would still would rate as an unproductive season.

It seemed too many things conspired against his time with the team. Not fully healed? Not adequately integrated into the playbook? A struggling QB? An OLine not providing consistent protection to allow deep routes to develop? Too many talented receivers to spread the wealth around? His own hands failing him when targeted?

Probably best for him to go to a team where he will get a lot of attention from an OC.

Ultimately sad for us but if he can help the Als, that would be great for the league overall. And he is too much fun to watch to be left sitting on the bench.
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B.C.FAN
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Confirmed. From bclions.com:
The BC Lions Football Club today announced that it has acquired international defensive end Gabriel Knapton from the Montreal Alouettes in exchange for international wide receiver Chris Williams.

Knapton (6’3”, 263) is a four-year CFL veteran and has appeared in 68 regular season games for the Als tallying 175 defensive stops along with 32 sacks.

“We identified our defensive line as one of our primary areas of need heading into next season and Gabriel is a significant acquisition for us,” said Lions GM Ed Hervey. “He brings a unique combination of athleticism and leadership to our defense and I know our fans will appreciate the energy he brings to the defensive end position.”

For Knapton, the move to BC will be a homecoming of sorts as the University of Wyoming grad and collegiate standout joins the Lions.
LIONS ACQUIRE DEFENSIVE END GABRIEL KNAPTON FROM MONTREAL
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WestCoastJoe
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Could be a good trade for us. He had good sack totals in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

We got very little out of Chris Williams.

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David
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Well, considering Williams was essentially a spare part, this is a good deal. I don't think Chris Williams was properly utilized by Khari, but Ed prefers the bigger bodied-type receivers anyway. I am not worried about the wideout position with the braintrust we have in the organization.

Gabe Knapton has always impressed me. I always thought he was a bit of a nut-job with the face paint and the intensity, but he's an effective pass rusher. :thup:

Like I said last week, Ed is not afraid to make trades. This is likely a sign of things to come. Can't recall the last time the BC Lions made a noteworthy trade with anyone.


DH :cool:
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CardiacKid
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Tue Dec 12, 2017 11:20 am
Confirmed. From bclions.com:
The BC Lions Football Club today announced that it has acquired international defensive end Gabriel Knapton from the Montreal Alouettes in exchange for international wide receiver Chris Williams.

Knapton (6’3”, 263) is a four-year CFL veteran and has appeared in 68 regular season games for the Als tallying 175 defensive stops along with 32 sacks.

“We identified our defensive line as one of our primary areas of need heading into next season and Gabriel is a significant acquisition for us,” said Lions GM Ed Hervey. “He brings a unique combination of athleticism and leadership to our defense and I know our fans will appreciate the energy he brings to the defensive end position.”

For Knapton, the move to BC will be a homecoming of sorts as the University of Wyoming grad and collegiate standout joins the Lions.
LIONS ACQUIRE DEFENSIVE END GABRIEL KNAPTON FROM MONTREAL
Knapton is indeed energetic and also intense. He will likely be the first to fire up the DLine when they need a kick in the backside.
JohnnyMusso
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Great trade for BC, No way Williams was coming back. If they could not trade him he would have been cut to save his salary. Lions needed help on the defensive line. Does this mean now Roh not coming back?
maxlion
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Tue Dec 12, 2017 11:20 am
Confirmed. From bclions.com:

For Knapton, the move to BC will be a homecoming of sorts as the University of Wyoming grad and collegiate standout joins the Lions.
LIONS ACQUIRE DEFENSIVE END GABRIEL KNAPTON FROM MONTREAL
A bit of a stretch for them to bill this as a homecoming, but looks like a good move to get something for Williams. :thup:
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David
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Yea, what did Cartmell mean by homecoming? He lost me on that one.
For Knapton, the move to BC will be a homecoming of sorts as the University of Wyoming grad and collegiate standout joins the Lions.
??


DH :cool:
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CardiacKid
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David wrote:
Tue Dec 12, 2017 12:53 pm
Yea, what did Cartmell mean by homecoming? He lost me on that one.
For Knapton, the move to BC will be a homecoming of sorts as the University of Wyoming grad and collegiate standout joins the Lions.
??


DH :cool:
According to Wikipedia, Wyoming is considered part of the Pacific Northwest. Who’d a thunk?
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Belize City Lion
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Great trade for BC. I like his intensity and the face painting, etc. He's a talented player you can market to fans.
TheLionKing
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Pleased to see Hervey addressing the need to upgrade the defensive line.
VictoriaFan
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Williams had too many drops in key drives, not sad to see him go
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Sir Purrcival
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As for Williams performance as a Lion, it is easy to forget that he didn't start until almost half way through the season after coming off a serious injury. And even then, the Lions were too busy imploding in other areas for anyone to say that he was a disappointment. Is there any part of this team that couldn't be considered some kind of disappointment?
The QB'ing, Oline, Dline, Secondary, Special Teams, Receiving core? Which part of this team performed above expectation? Maybe the running game when we were using it. I'm glad that we were able to translate his departure into something coming back but it is difficult to say that based on the body of work, the time frame, the injury, the state of the team as a whole, that Williams was less successful than that any other receiver who could have played at that position. Nobody played that well this year and most didn't have the excuse of coming off major injury and having missed training camp and half a season. I wish him well. I hope that he has a better fate with his new team than what he did here.
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B.C.FAN
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Ed Hervey discusses the trade with J.J. Adams of The Province:
“You look at the depth of our wide receiving corps, with Manny Arceneaux and Bryan Burnham, and we just felt there was an opportunity to trade a quality player like Chris Williams to address an area of priority for us,” said Lions GM Ed Hervey.

“Again, our offensive and defensive lines are areas that we want to consider where we want to upgrade. We’re going to build our team from the inside out. Chris Williams was a player that we felt we could put out there.

“You have to give value to get value, and Chris was that guy.”

The 6-3, 263-pound Knapton had just three sacks and 38 tackles in 17 games with the 3-15 Als this season, but had sacked opposing QBs 29 times in the three previous seasons. Even if the 28-year-old doesn’t recapture his form, the four-year veteran will bring a veteran presence to the defensive line.

“Aside from his ability to apply pressure and get to the quarterback and be disruptive, he brings a level of work ethic,” said Hervey. “When you watch him on film, he’s very active and always working. He brings a level of toughness and energy to an area of priority for us.”
Boom drops on the Lions’ Legion of Zoom as Williams traded to Montreal
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