The Tampa Bay Buccaneers surprisingly decided to cut Desmond Watson like they did Shilo Sanders. They did not choose to move the monstrous defensive tackle to the Non-Football Injury list.
That would’ve allowed the team to pay him any salary it wanted while he continued to work toward his weight loss goal.
Watson would’ve then been available at any point during the upcoming NFL season. Instead, he is now a free agent. He might make his professional debut in 2025. He might not. Only time will tell.
Is Desmond Watson losing weight?
The last update we received directly from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came on Aug. 19. Head coach Todd Bowles sounded optimistic about the progress of Desmond Watson for the first time.
He wanted to get a plan in place for the 22-year-old rookie by the end of the week. He would’ve loved to get him on the field sooner than later, especially while the team deals with injuries on that side of the ball.
As it would turn out, the plan is to let him walk.
Watson remained on the sideline during the final game of the preseason. He was officially waived by the organization on Monday afternoon.
According to Fox Sports reporter Greg Auman, Watson’s progress was kept completely under wraps. Nobody outside of the coaching staff and front office knew whether he has been losing weight throughout training camp or how much weight he still needs to lose.
“I don’t know a specific number,” Auman wrote. “400? 380? But I also don’t know if he’s close to being there.”
Watson was listed at 449 pounds as a senior at Florida. He weighed 464 at his Pro Day.
As of April 26, Watson was down from 464 to 437. That was a 27-pound difference in a little over four weeks. Unfortunately, it sounds like he arrived to training camp closer to 450.
That would require him somewhere between 50 and 70 pounds to reach Auman’s estimated numbers.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut him anyway.
Desmond Watson is obviously much more valuable on the field than off. However, unlike Shilo Sanders, the team may not have had to pay him to keep him on the roster. Kind of.
Tampa Bay could’ve moved Watson to the Non-Football Injury/Illness list but chose not to do so.
That would’ve allow the Buccaneers to supervise his conditioning and diet, retain his rights, and then at some point open a 21-day practice window before they had to make any kind of move. Meanwhile, they do not have to count him toward the 53-man roster limit.
They also wouldn’t have to pay him.
Unlike players on the regular Injured Reserve list, players on the NFI do not automatically receive their base salary. NFI players are paid at the team’s discretion.
More often than not, the organization comes to an agreement with the play on how much he will be paid during the time he spends on the NFI list to keep that player in its good graces. It doesn’t have to.
Thus, it seemed Desmond Watson was headed to the Non-Football Injury list. He got cut instead.