Bucs’ Desmond Watson, the NFL’s heaviest player, placed on non-football injury list due to weight

A.G. GancarskiJuly 26, 20252min0
Desmond Watson Bucs image via AP
Former Gator will have to drop some pounds.

Desmond Watson’s quest to make the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will get a late start.

Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said the heaviest player in NFL history is day to day after starting camp on non-football injury list due to his weight.

“It’s just about trying to get him better, to be a healthier player and getting him on the field a little more,” Bowles said Wednesday. “That’s kind of where I’m at right now. He’s working at it and we’re working with him and that’s all you can ask right now.”

Watson, who played at Florida, was signed after going undrafted in April. He weighed 464 pounds at the school’s pro day and lost 25 to 30 pounds before the draft.

“I don’t have a timetable on what we can get him down to or when that comes,” Bowles said. “He’s from Armwood, he went to Florida, so he’s used to the heat. That’s not a big factor in it. We’ve just got to see what happens.”

The 6-foot-6 defensive tackle has been working with a team nutritionist and the team hasn’t said what would be an ideal playing weight for him.

___

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. His work also can be seen in the Washington Post, the New York Post, the Washington Times, and National Review, among other publications. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, Liam Fineout, A.G. Gancarski, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Andrew Powell, Jesse Scheckner, Janelle Taylor, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704