After the NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went on a spree adding a slew of seemingly exciting undrafted rookies. A day before final roster cuts, two of the most notable names have been scratched off the list.
Shilo Sanders was waived as part of the first round of roster cuts on Sunday, a move that came after he was ejected from Saturday's preseason finale. Desmond Watson followed Sanders out the door shortly thereafter, as he received his pink slip on Monday.
Bucs are waiving rookie defensive tackle Desmond Watson, who had been on the non-football illness list all of training camp. Had needed to get his weight down -- could have moved him to reserve-NFI, but they'll cut him outright. Not going to practice squad at the moment.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) August 25, 2025
Watson leaves behind absolutely no game film of himself because he never saw the field during his time with the Buccaneers. He arrived in Tampa Bay as the heaviest player in NFL history, weighing in at 464 pounds, and was unable to get down to a weight where the team felt comfortable playing him.
It's a total bummer that this is how his journey to making the team ends, especially since he showed some promise while at Florida. Had he been able to get down to a healthy weight, the idea of him plugging the middle of the defensive line with Vita Vea would have created nearly 1,000 pounds of defensive prowess for offense to try and run through.
It was also just hard to root against Watson, who did lose a ton of weight on his journey to trying to make the team and was an overall likable player to follow.
Desmond Watson's journey to the Buccaneers 53-man roster has ended, but he might still have a future
What makes things even more of a bummer is the fact that head coach Todd Bowles seemed to suggest that Watson was working his way into some sort of role with the team.
"That's something we're going to meet about in the next two days," Bowles said ahead of final roster cuts. "I'd like to have some long-term plans for him going forward because he's making some progress and I feel like down the line he can help us, but we'll have those conversations toward the end of the week."
Those conversations ended with Watson no longer being in the picture, but it might not be the end of the road.
Much like Sanders, there's a chance that Watson remains with the Bucs as part of the practice squad. It's clear that he made an impression on Bowles, who didn't hide his disappointment with Sanders after his ejection.
That seems to suggest the Bucs might not be as down on him as it seems even if he didn't earn a roster spot. Then again, the team could have added him to the NFI list and not had him count against the 53-man roster and opted not to do that which means these next few days will be key to whether or not Watson actually has a future in Tampa Bay or not.
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