Tampa Bay Cuts Desmond Watson For Not Reaching Weight
Desmond Watson. When Training Camp started, I thought this kid was going to be an absolute STEAL for the Tamp Bay Buccaneers. I thought with a little bit of work, he was going to become something special. Sure, he weighed 464 pounds at his Pro Day. But with the best Doctors and trainers at his disposal, you would think he could lose SOME WEIGHT and make the team? Right?
Well…
6'5" 449 lbs rookie DT Desmond Watson has been released by the Bucs, per @gregauman
Watson missed all of camp to work on losing weight pic.twitter.com/1GjhO4RjQa
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 25, 2025
The Big Man could not get the job done. According to multiple reports, the former Florida Gator was let go from the team for failing to meet Tampa Bay’s weight goals. There has been no official word on what those “goals” were set at, but the current rumor around the internet is that they wanted him under 400 pounds.
This decision comes after a Training Camp where the only videos we saw…..was of Watson walking. The undrafted free agent was placed on the non-football injury list, and could not practice with the team. Instead, he was told to focus on his weight before he could put on pads.
TRENDING: 464-pound #Buccaneers rookie DT Desmond Watson has to run 10 LAPS around the field without stopping once in 95° weather.
The team told Watson that he cannot practice until he LOSSES WEIGHT and he is currently on the Non-Football Injury List.
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) July 28, 2025
Now obviously, it’s hard to judge anyone in this situation with the limited amount of information we have. But let’s just say (for fun) that his goal was 400 lbs. If that’s the case…..that just seems wildly unreasonable. Losing 70 pounds between his Pro Day and now (21 weeks) would’ve required Watson to drop (roughly) 3.33 pounds per week. That is WELL ABOVE the healthy range of 1-2, and a BIG ASK for someone of his size.
It’s just absurd! Sure, he had some of the best trainers and Doctors in the world at his disposal. And his days were primarily centered around his weight-loss goals. But for anyone to lose that much weight, let alone a professional athlete, would do more harm than good for their overall well-being.
For the record; I’m not knocking the guy. He did put in the work. He showed that he was actively trying to get better, while also making $70,000 in the process. But what I’m trying to say is……I need to know how much weight the Bucs were expecting him to lose. If it’s anything close to 70 pounds…..then why even bother signing the guy?
I hope for nothing but the best for Desmond Watson. This is not the last that we see of the former #21. But in the end, as always…..what do I know? I’m just a guy from the Midwest, with a beer and a laptop, trying to make sense of this world.