Buccaneers add 450lb rookie to the injury list due to weight

Back in April the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made history with the Signing of undrafted free agent Desmond Watson from the Florida Gators.

Watson made waves during his college career, largely for his huge 6ft 5in, 464lb physique. The Buccaneers signed him on a short-term contract to allow him to train with the team over summer and he has officially become the heaviest player to sign an NFL contract.

The team has tasked him with losing some weight and improving his athleticism before making the 53-man active roster for the 2025 season. But although he has dropped to around 450lbs, Watson still has work to do to make the team.

On Thursday Bucs coach Todd Bowles revealed that Watson had been placed on the non-football injury list due to his weight. It is a stark sign of the work that Watson still has to do to make it in the NFL but Bowles was keen to reiterate that the door is not closed.

“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, via Fox 13. “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.”

“We have some things in mind with him, where we want to see him at,” Bowles added. “He’s made some progress. . . . I don’t have a timetable on what we can get him down to or when that comes.”

If he can reach a weight that the team are happy with, there are some real up-sides to Watson’s potential inclusion in the roster. The defensive tackle made 63 combined tackles during his four seasons at Florida and has been cited as a potential ‘tush-push killer’ for his imposing size and impressive strength.

During the exercises at Florida’s Pro Day, Watson managed 36 reps of 225lb on the bench press. More impressively, he he performed fairly well at the more athletic disciplines, registering a 25in vertical jump and 5.86s 50-yard dash.

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