Desmond Watson has become an instant fan favorite in the Tampa Bay fan base. The former Florida Gators defensive tackle made national headlines when he became the biggest player ever to play in the NFL, signing with the Bucs as a 6-foot-6, 464-pound behemoth.
Watson was the guest of Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo on NFL Network on Thursday and revealed why he signed with the Bucs after going undrafted.
“It wasn’t really expected for me to be a draft pick,” said Watson, who is a native of Plant City, Fla., which is just outside of Tampa. “Towards the end of the draft two teams had negotiations and it was going to be I sign with them or somebody uses a draft pick on me. Ultimately it ended up me going to the Bucs. I’m excited about it. I get to stay in my hometown and things like that. It’s not a huge adjustment. It is a huge adjustment, but it’s not a huge transition I would say. So I’m excited.”
Watson is excited to become teammates with Bucs Pro Bowl defensive tackle Vita Vea, who is his football idol. Vea has struggled with his weight at times during his seven-year career in Tampa Bay, but reported to OTAs last year in the best shape of his career. After working out with former Bucs defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, Vea only missed one game last season, had a career-high seven sacks and made his second Pro Bowl.
Watson is hoping to learn from Vea how to better manage his weight and how to be a professional defensive tackle, which was a big reason why he signed with Tampa Bay.
“I looked at it as being able to get the most out of my potential there,” Watson said. “Like you all said, they have a vet (Vea) there that I feel like I’ve tried to model my game after. He does it successfully and I feel like that’s a person I can look up to and learn a lot from. So I think that was the best option for me.”
Desmond Watson And Vita Vea Could Be The “Tush Push” Eliminators
The fascination of a 6-foot-6, 400-plus-pound Desmond Watson lining up next to 6-foot-4, 347-pound Vita Vea to stop Philadelphia’s “Tush Push” goal line and short yardage QB sneak play is not just a fantasy in the minds of Bucs fans. It’s something that head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht have thought of, too.
“We just signed a very large defensive tackle from the University of Florida – those two would be a heckuva tandem to do something like that,” Licht said on the Rich Eisen Show when discussing the Eagles’ success at running the “Tush Push” play. “Big Desmond – supposedly he’s lost quite a bit of weight already. So he’s over 400 pounds. He’s a heckuva player. He was a top recruit outside of Tampa here in high school at Armwood High School. He hasn’t missed any time at Florida and he’s a pretty good athlete. He’s hard to run at I’ll tell you that.”
Bucs DT Vita Vea and Eagles QB Jalen Hurts – Photo by: USA Today
The Bucs have played the Eagles three times in the past two years, including the playoffs in 2023, and will host Philadelphia again this season. In fact, Tampa Bay might be the only team to have stopped the “Tush Push,” with Vea being at the center of thwarting the play in the team’s 32-9 win over Philly in the 2023 Wild Card game.
Watson knows that some of the weight he gained at Florida – over 100 excess pounds since graduating high school at 350 pounds – will have to come off if he’s going to be successful at the next level. Knowing that he’ll have a shot at a career in the NFL if he can get his weight under control, Watson has shed a considerable amount of pounds since his Florida pro day.
Bucs DT Desmond Watson – Photo by: USA Today
The Tampa Bay Times’ Joey Knight reported that Watson is down to 437 pounds.
“I weighed in at 437 late last week,” Watson said on NFL Network. “That’s the journey I’ve got to take to be successful. I think it’s good for clicks and things like that to be the biggest player ever. But at the same time, to be successful and to max out my potential the coaches know – and me and my family know – that I have to drop weight in order to reach that. I’ve just been changing my habits to actually get there.”
When asked by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo what his goal weight was for his rookie season in Tampa Bay, Watson didn’t give a specific number.
“I’m not sure specifically,” Watson said. “I have a long journey to go even though I’ve made good progress so far. I think I have a long journey to go. Just along that journey I can see where I’ll be best at. I think I move pretty well for my size. I might not have to get down to the smallest average D-tackle and things like that to be good, but along that journey I’ll be able to feel it out and see where I work best at.”
While a number like 380 pounds might be ideal, the Bucs are hoping he can get down to 400 pounds and see what that does for his conditioning and mobility. After losing nearly 30 pounds already, Watson has another 37 pounds to go to reach that target.
Watson, who was given a $20,000 signing bonus and has $50,000 in guaranteed money, will make his Buccaneers debut at the team’s rookie mini-camp next Friday. That will be his first step towards making Tampa Bay’s practice squad – or perhaps joining his idol, Vea, on the 53-man roster if he continues to lose weight and proves to be effective.