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5 hours ago
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Desmond Watson is known as the Tush Push Terminator.
That's not what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed him for, though, at least according to new comments from Bucs head coach Todd Bowles.
Bowles told ESPN that Tampa Bay has bigger hopes for Watson than that.
“Right now, we just have to see how long he can stay on the field, and [we] put him on a program where we think he can make some progress,” Bowles said. “We didn’t get him to say, ‘Hey, we have 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, then kind of see where he is.”
Watson was listed at 464 pounds at Florida's Pro Day, then said after the draft that he was down to 437.
His playing weight when the season rolls around is to be determined. The NFL record for heaviest player to appear in a regular season game is 380 pounds.
“Right now, we just have to see how long he can stay on the field, and [we] put him on a program where we think he can make some progress,” Bowles said. “We didn’t get him to say, ‘Hey, we have 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, then kind of see where he is.”
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Tampa Bay's defensive line coach Charlie Strong also shared his thoughts with ESPN on the big fella.
“We just haven’t seen someone that size,” Strong said. “He works, and he don’t mind working. I know with his size, everybody wants to make a big deal about it. But our players -- even the guys who are around him right now in our room -- they just look at him like, ‘He’s just like us. He’s got to go about his work and do his job.’”
For Watson to fill any role with the Buccaneers, he'll have to go from undrafted free agent to making the 53-man roster. That's his main focus for the next couple of months.
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