Giant Danish tackle Andreas Knappe signs with Washington Redskins

Giant Danish offensive tackle Andreas Knappe has signed to play football with the Washington Redskins. Although he was not drafted, not long after the end of the 2017 NFL Draft Knappe was picked up by the Atlanta Falcons, the team that apparently had been seriously considering drafting him. He was released at the end of the preseason.

Knappe has been assigned to the Redskins practice squad following a number of tryouts with other NFL teams after his release from the Falcons. The 25-year-old offensive tackle was not chosen in the seven rounds of the NFL Draft, although several experts had considered him as a likely late selection in the draft.

The Redskins have been hit by injuries so it is conceivable that Knappe could see some playing time this season.

Andreas Knappe #67 towering over Washington Redskins teammates

The   6’8″, 325 lb Knappe played college-football for the University of Connecticut Huskies. According to GuldKlud.dk, his biggest strength is blocking in the run game  where his impressive physique drives the opponents backwards. Conversely, they say that his huge size gives him some challenges when he is going to block in the throwing game.

In a recent phone interview with the Washington Post’s Scott Allen, Knappe confessed that he is a lifelong Redskins fan:

“When I started watching football, I really liked Sean Taylor. I also really liked Brian Orakpo when he was here, too. Back then I played defense and I didn’t know much about offense. I was following the defensive players more. I saw some players that were really cool and then I liked the team because of them.”

Knappe also explained to Allen that he used to also love watching former Redskins linebacker London Fletcher and wore his jersey when he first started to play football in Denmark. Knappe played for the Triangle Razorbacks in his native Denmark before heading the Connecticut.

T

American Football International is your source for news and updates about American Football outside the United States!