Former Bills FB Corey Knox: Exclusive Interview

BuffaLowDown: With a player like you who was overlooked and always had to prove himself, a developmental league might be the perfect situation if the NFL had one. When things didn’t work out with the Bills there would’ve been another forum for you to show your physicality and skill set. Can you share your thoughts on whether the NFL should have a developmental league and what might it look like?

Corey: I absolutely 100% think they should. I say this to people all the time. It’s not as cut and dry as people believe. It’s not as black and white as people think it is. It’s not like you’re either good enough or you’re not and that’s it. There’s a lot of really good football players that I know personally and that other people know that are not playing football in the NFL right now. Guys who just missed their chance. A lot of it is timing and a numbers game. I’ve played with guys who were All-MAC and players who were All-Americans, who just got overlooked. Who weren’t in the right system at the right time. Unfortunately, there is a new crop of players every year so a lot of guys get overlooked.

I think something like a developmental league [would be great] if there was a big enough organization of people who had the funding and the plans to do it. There would be a ton of really good football players in it. Players that are just about good enough to play in the league, if not ready for the league. You can put them into a league and essentially it would be a farm system which every other pro sport has. Just look at the NBA D-league. That’s worked fantastic for them. I think it’s foolish that they don’t implement something like that not only for guys like me but for other people. It would be a really great way to get another crop of good players back in. Unfortunately, you have college football which acts as that, but then you get guys that get overlooked.

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