When the NFL voted not to outlaw the Tush Push, it all but guaranteed the league’s most polarizing short-yardage play would be around at least another year. So naturally, every team is evaluating how to handle it. Some want to copy it. Others want to kill it.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might have accidentally stumbled into both options with rookie defensive tackle Desmond Watson, a 6’6″, 437-pound anomaly who proudly wears Pewter and Red.
Desmond Watson’s Size Isn’t the Story — Bucs HC Todd Bowles Thinks His Game Could Be
Watson, who played his final collegiate game in the Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium, went undrafted out of Florida but immediately became a headline-grabber in Bucs rookie camp — and not just because of his mass. The Florida native grew up rooting for the Buccaneers and is now sharing a room with Vita Vea, another fan-favorite behemoth up front. But according to head coach Todd Bowles, this move was never just about making headlines or adding pure mass to clog the Eagles’ infamous fourth-down hammer.
“To judge him right now is very early, and we didn’t get him for the Tush Push — we got him because we really thought he could play,” Bowles said, via ESPN Buccaneers insider Jenna Laine. “It’s just a matter of getting him to the point where he can play more than two or three plays [per drive].”
That’s the real challenge. Watson isn’t just big — he’s historically big. He’s heavier than any player ever recorded in NFL history, topping former offensive lineman Aaron Gibson’s previous 410-pound high. His story is the stuff of legend: Growing up in Plant City, playing four years for the Gators, and now hoping to turn a training camp invitation into a roster spot next to the player he idolized, Vita Vea.
“I’m happy,” Watson said. “It is a dream come true. I feel like you can’t do anything but smile.”
DESMOND WATSON GETS THE FIRST DOWN 😤 pic.twitter.com/jxJDiWXbzR
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork)
But smiles don’t win games — endurance does. Bowles emphasized that while Watson’s upside is intriguing, they’re starting slow and emphasizing a conditioning program to help him sustain drives. “Right now, we just have to see how long he can stay on the field,” Bowles said. “It’s, ‘Hey, we can try to put you on this program and see what we can come up with and see if we can get our endurance better,’ and have him become a better player that way.”
Still, the intrigue remains. Defensive line coach Charlie Strong said the Bucs “just haven’t seen someone that size,” and acknowledged the staff is keeping a close eye on Watson’s growth. Watson himself lost 27 pounds to return to his college playing weight after tipping the scale at 464 during Florida’s pro day. On the Bucs’ official roster, a typo has him listed at 264 — a full 200-pound swing from reality.
Watson knows the headlines will keep coming, but he’s focused on writing a new one. “I feel like my name is etched in history, of course, as being the official heaviest player in the NFL,” Watson said. “But I want to be known as a football player, and a good football player at that.”
If he makes the roster, we’ll see just how much weight the Bucs can throw at Philly’s controversial play in Week 4.
