Desmond Watson had a chance to be the largest player in the history of the National Football League.
Whether that’s an honor someone wants is probably down to the individual player, but it was the direction Watson was trending in when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed him in 2025 as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Florida, where he had spent his college career with the Gators.
A year-and-a-half after Watson signed, though, he’s nowhere to be found.
It’s hard to lose a guy who was listed at 464 pounds coming out of college, but Watson’s football career has struggled to take hold at the professional level.
Let’s get Desmond Watson a 5th year.
Human bulldozer at running back. pic.twitter.com/989dQMskdT
— Nick Marcinko (@marcinko_nick) August 21, 2026
Where is Desmond Watson?
Watson, based on any records that exist on football websites, appears to be an NFL free agent as well as available to be signed by any of the other football leagues out there.
He began his pro journey with the Bucs, who set various goals for Watson to try to get him down in weight a bit. There were different points in time when he was listed at either 449 or 437 pounds — both of which would’ve still set an NFL record if Watson appeared in a regular season game.
The Buccaneers ended up cutting Watson, but then they brought him back onto the practice squad for a portion of the 2025 season. He was never elevated, though, and not brought back after the year.
That sent Watson on a path toward the spring league, the UFL, where he was in camp with the DC Defenders.
Watson evidently didn’t make that team, though, because he disappeared from their roster page.
He has not surfaced since.
There was no record of him being part of an NFL 90-man roster this summer. It’s not clear whether he’s continuing to pursue a football career.
Desmond Watson at Florida
Watson was clearly a big fella at Florida, but he was relied upon in a rotational role along the defensive line throughout his career.
He made seven tackles as a freshman, 25 as a sophomore, 11 as a junior and 20 as a senior.
Watson also had a fumble recovery as a sophomore that he ran back for eight yards, and that’s shown in the picture atop the article where he’s stiff-arming Spencer Rattler of South Carolina.
The Gators also gave Watson a rush in his senior year that he took for a single yard, with the video clip earlier on in this article.
For Florida, Watson was a guy that Gators fans wanted to see succeed because of his size and how unique he was.
The NFL hasn’t been so kind, though. Watson’s chances of playing in the planet’s best football league appear to have gone by the wayside.
Where is Desmond Watson? Why Florida’s 464-Pound NFL Prospect Isn’t in League