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But at this point in his career, Knight acknowledged, he is more concerned with winning than the number of zeroes in his contract. He feels that a team that is a contender, one that feels a quality safety will move in a step closer to a Super Bowl appearance, will come calling.
"Wherever I go," Knight said, "I want to help change things for the better. If it means I'm the final piece of the Super Bowl puzzle somewhere, hey, that would be great. If I go, say, to theCincinnati Bengals, I want to be the guy who helps get that team turned around."
Signed as an undrafted college free agent in 1997, the former Southern Cal star gained a starting job just a month into his rookie season, and has been a fixture in the Saints secondary ever since. His final season with the Trojans, he actually played linebacker, and that contributed to him not being drafted.
But he earned a starting spot as a rookie and, after just one year, the Saints made a long-term commitment to him.
Knight, 27, signed the five-year contract in 1999. The deal, which included a $2 million signing bonus, featured a provision that permitted him to void the 2003 portion of the contract if Knight accomplished performance incentives. He easily reached most of the benchmarks and that triggered his ability to void the contract.
The decision to exercise the void, he said, was an easy one. There were no sleepless nights, not much mental debate, and no regrets now.
While he bristles slight when it is suggested he might have beaten the posse out of town, Knight can rattle off a litany of veteran players released by New Orleans once their salaries reached a certain point, and allows that he didn't want to join that list.
But even if he didn't sense his day might be running out in New Orleans, he still would have opted to trigger the void.
"I've spent six years there and, the way it seems, it's time to move on," said Knight, one of the league's top playmakers at strong safety. "If you look at the way the Saints have operated, if they're going to keep you, they've made a move by now to keep you. There really hasn't been anything with me. It's kind of a repetitive thing with the team. Once you reach a certain salary level they don't want to keep you around. And there comes a point, too, where you don't want to stick around."
Two teams indicated to ESPN.com at the combine that Knight is already on their radar screen. Knight and his agent feel that, come Friday, the telephone will ring with teams anxious to display their interest.
"Things are going to work out just fine," Knight said. "They always do. This is a gamble I know that I'll win."
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
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