Desmond Watson weighed 464 pounds at Florida’s pro day, which made him the heaviest player in NFL history when he signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent. But in training camp the Bucs deemed his obesity a non-football illness and had him working only on his conditioning, and he was cut after the preseason.
Now Watson is back with the Buccaneers on their practice squad, and although he declined to say what he currently weighs, he said it’s significantly less than 464 pounds.
“I’m proud of it,” Watson said, via PewterReport.com. “It’s a good number – obviously good enough to be signed back. I don’t want to say a specific number, but it’s been enough to obviously get signed back. I’m blessed.”
Watson is practicing now and glad to be working on more than just conditioning, and he says he’s getting himself ready if he’s activated to the active roster.
“That was the longest I’ve had without practicing against people since I was like seven years old,” Watson said. “That was tough. It was definitely an adjustment, but it feels great to practice now. I feel blessed to be able to help this organization any way possible, so getting back into it, it feels great.”
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has generated buzz as an MVP candidate through the first five weeks of the season, which is a far cry from where his career appeared to be headed before he joined the team in 2023.
Mayfield was let go by the Browns after the 2021 season and had a short stint with the Panthers in 2022 before ending that season with the Rams. He also ended it with doubts about his ability to be a long-term answer at quarterback, but those have faded away in Tampa thanks to two division titles and a strong start to this season.
On Wednesday, Mayfield was asked about his response to how the conversation around him has changed over the years. Mayfield said that he’s “not worried about little things that don’t matter” at this point in his career and that he’s come to understand that winning is the most significant thing to how a player is perceived around the league.
“I told you guys that I try to not get too high, not get too low, which is something I was not doing early on in my career,” Mayfield said. “Early on in my career, it’s looked [at] as ‘cocky, immature.’ Now it’s ‘moxie’ and ‘he’s a dog.’ Same s—t, different day. As long as you play well, they change the narrative, but you’ve just got to be yourself, and I’ve always been like that.”
The formula has worked well for Mayfield and he’ll try to move the Bucs to 5-1 at home against the 49ers this Sunday.
The 49ers kicked off their practice week with Mac Jones on the field and Brock Purdy off of it.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said that Jones will be listed as a limited participant because of knee and oblique injuries he’s dealing with after starting at quarterback in the team’s Week 5 win over the Rams. Purdy missed that game with a toe injury and that is also the reason for his absence on Wednesday.
Shanahan said that Purdy, who has missed three of the team’s five games this season, is progressing and that there’s no thought to putting him on injured reserve. His continued absence suggests Jones is in line to start for the Buccaneers.
Wide receivers Ricky Pearsall (knee), Jauan Jennings (ankle, rib), and Jordan Watkins (calf) did not play last week and remained out on Wednesday. Defensive tackle Alfred Collins (knee), defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (knee, hamstring), defensive end Robert Beal (ankle), left tackle Trent Williams (rest), and running back Christian McCaffrey (rest) are the other non-participants.
Defensive tackle C.J. West (thumb), cornerback Upton Stout (ankle), defensive lineman Kevin Givens (pec), and defensive lineman Kalia Davis (hand) joined Jones in the limited category.
Monday night’s Jaguars win it into a trend of big comebacks in Week 5 and it also fit into a larger trend for the 2025 season.
Adam Schefter of ESPN notes that it was also the 17th game to feature a go-ahead score in the final minute of regulation. That’s the most through the first five weeks of a season since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
Four of those scores have been made by the Buccaneers, including Chase McLaughlin’s game-winning field goal in Sunday’s 38-35 road win in Seattle. They are the first team to have their first four wins of a season come on scores in the final minute of regulation.
Between the double-digit comebacks and late fireworks, the early theme of the 2025 season seems to be that few leads are safe in the NFL.
The Buccaneers excelled late in games during the first month of the season and they did it again in their first October outing.
Baker Mayfield’s touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard with 1:08 left to play tied the Seahawks at 35 and linebacker Lavonte David’s interception two plays into the next drive set up Chase McLaughlin’s game-winning field goal as time expired. All four of their wins have come down to the wire and David said after the game that the team knows they have to fight until the clock hits zero.
“The games we’ve had so far this year, as long as we have time on the clock we’ve got a chance, and our guys truly, truly believe that from the bottom of our hearts,” David said, via the team’s website. “That’s a good feeling to have. And just guys executing, doing all the little things right. I know it was high-scoring but in the end it was complementary football that won us the game.”
A little less drama might be nice, but no one in Tampa is complaining about the results or about the attitude that consistently finding ways to win builds around a team.
