NFL News: Bucs’ Place Desmond Watson on the list of non-football damage due to weight

Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed not drawn Defensive Tackle Desmond Watson on the list of non-football damage due to his weight.

Watson, 22, was 6-foot-6, 464 pounds when Bucs signed him after the 2025 NFL draft. He is down to about 450 pounds, but has not lost enough weight to be cleared for training camp.

“It’s just about trying to get him better, being a healthier player and getting him on the field a little more,” head coach Todd Bowles told journalists on Wednesday.

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“That’s how I am right now. He is working on it and we are working with him. And that’s all you can ask right now.”

Watson has the ability to be a quality driving in the NFL. For four seasons with Florida Gators, Watson had 63 tackles and 1½ sacks.

Jets’ Justin Fields that were run off during training camp practices after having suffered apparent damage

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defensive Tackle Desmond Watson participates in MiniCamp in Adventhealth Training Center 10 July 2025 in Tampa Bay, FLA. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imag- Pictures)

“We have some things we have in mind with him where we want to see him and we continue to monitor it and get him to the place where we think he should be and go from there,” Bowles said.

During his time in Florida, Watson said to stop to get food while driving was one of the reasons he had put a lot of weight.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defensive Tackle Desmond Watson trainer at a BUC place on June 11, 2025 in Tampa Bay, Fla. (Kim Klement Neitzel/Imag images)

“Stop while driving,” Watson said when asked about bad habits he has tried to throw on his pro day. “My biggest thing is to go on, get to the place I need to get. There are stores and a lot of temptations. It has helped me tremendous

If Watson were to make the 53-man list and perform in a game, he would do the NFL story as the heaviest player to play in the league’s history.