Buccaneers make major Desmond Watson announcement about formerly 464-pound DT

Billy Heyen

Buccaneers make major Desmond Watson announcement about formerly 464-pound DT image

There's some big news out of Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

The Buccaneers are signing Desmond Watson to their practice squad.

Watson is the former Florida defensive tackle who weighed 464 pounds during the pre-draft process.

He got down to 437 during the offseason after signing with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent, but he apparently hadn't met all of their conditioning goals and was released.

The Buccaneers worked Watson out last week and apparently liked what they saw, because they're giving him another chance.

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The signing does come with intriguing timing. The Bucs play the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4, and Watson was once called the "Tush Push Terminator."

Whether or not the Buccaneers actually activate Watson for gameday remains to be seen.

Watson put up strong athletic numbers at his Pro Day for a guy who was listed at 6-foot-6 and 464 pounds. The Bucs likely still see a player who can cause serious problems on the interior of the defensive line if he can just get a little lighter while still maintaining his overall strength, size and movement skills.

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The big fella has met some of the goals the Bucs set out for him.

Now it's his chance to reach his own goals. Watson has worked hard to reach the NFL.

Now he's just one more roster move away from a promotion to the gameday squad. And if that happens, he could get into action, and conceptually become the heaviest player to appear in an NFL regular season game (although his exact weight right now is unknown).

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle