If he makes the roster and appears in a regular season game this year, Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie defensive tackle Desmond Watson will be the heaviest player ever to take the NFL field. …
And that’s after he’s lost 27 pounds since his college days at Florida.
Weighing in with the Gators at 464 pounds with a 6-6 frame, Watson is down to 437 at rookie minicamp. That would shatter the previous record for the heaviest player by a whopping 57 pounds.
But Watson also knows that’s not what he wants to define his football career.
“I feel like my name is etched in history, of course, as the official heaviest player in the NFL, or whatnot,” Watson told the team website. “It’s a good story; at the same time I don’t want it to be my narrative. I want to be known as a football player, and a good football player at that. But it’s nice to be able to make history… I guess again because I did it in college, too. It’s nice to be able to make history but all in all, I am a football player and I want to be known as a good one. So it’s just a process that comes with it, I guess.”
Watson is a long shot to make the team, but he could have some help this summer with two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Vita Vea playing alongside him.
Vea is a bit smaller at 6-4, 347 pounds, but his similar size and athleticism could be a tremendous help to Watson this summer. .. and the rookie has mentioned Vea as being a role model.
Being anything like Vita would be a big gain for the Bucs …. Amid these big losses for Watson.