400-pound Buccaneers rookie steals the show at minicamp

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made plenty of notable moves during the 2025 NFL Draft, adding a talented wide receiver while shoring up the defensive backfield. With that being said, the Buccaneers have also earned plenty of attention for their signings in the undrafted free agent market, namely former Colorado safety Shilo Sanders and former Florida defensive lineman Desmond Watson.

Watson, in particular, is an absolute unit at 6-foot-6, 437 pounds. NFL fans are used to seeing large men duking it out each Sunday but this one demands an extra look. Incredibly enough, Watson has actually lost 27 pounds since his Pro Day in March.

The massive defensive lineman took the field with the Buccaneers for the first time on Friday with the team kicking off rookie minicamp.

Dec 20, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; Florida Gators defensive lineman Desmond Watson (21) runs the ball for a first down against the Tulane Green Wave during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Watson's size stole the show on day one. He towered over the other rookies in a clip of warmups where Watson participated in backpedaling drills.

Here’s 437-pound Desmond Watson from Florida at Buccaneers rookie minicamp. pic.twitter.com/QcDtK8eXc2
— Logan B. Robinson (@LogansTwitty) May 9, 2025

To no surprise, head coach Todd Bowles was asked about Watson following practice. Bowles explained that the Buccaneers are taking a patient approach as they believe in Watson as a player. The team is planning to place him on a plan to improve his conditioning prior to training camp.

"He's got to make the team first all of all," Bowles said. "Right now, we just got to see how long he can stay on the field and put him on a program where we think he can make some progress. I think that's the biggest thing for us to do right now. We didn't get him and say, 'hey, we've got to put you on the field right now.'

"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 and then kind of see where he is," Bowles continued. "So to judge him right now is very early. We didn't get him for the tush push, we got him because we really thought he could play. It's just a matter of getting up to a point where he can play more than 2-3 plays a drive."

Here’s Todd Bowles on Desmond Watson, who he says is on a team program focusing on giving him more endurance ahead of training camp: pic.twitter.com/ARqfccXt27
— River Wells (@riverhwells) May 9, 2025

Over his four seasons with the Gators, Watson appeared in 51 games and made ten starts. He totaled 63 tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one pass deflection. Watson never missed a game during his time in Gainesville.

Watson has a work cut out for him to make the Buccaneers, whether that's on the 53-man roster or practice squad. Tampa Bay does appear to be optimistic about his chances after guaranteeing $50,000 of his contract and providing him with a $20,000 signing bonus.

Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2025 offseason.

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