Bucs place 450-pound rookie on non-football injury list due to weight issues

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed undrafted defensive tackle Desmond Watson on the non-football injury list due to his weight.

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

"It's just about trying to get him better, to be a healthier player and getting him on the field a little more," head coach Todd Bowles told reporters Wednesday. 

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Desmond Watson watches from the sideline during practice Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Tampa, Fla.  (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

"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." 

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

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Desmond Watson participates in minicamp at AdventHealth Training Center July 10, 2025, in Tampa Bay, Fla.  (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)

"We have some things we have in mind with him where we want to see him at, and we’ll continue to monitor that and get him to where we think he needs to be and go from there," Bowles said. 

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

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Desmond Watson works out at One Buc