TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are waiving former Florida Gators 450-pound defensive tackle Desmond Watson in advance of Tuesday's roster cut deadline, a source told ESPN on Monday.
Watson, who was officially listed at 449 pounds with the Buccaneers, did not take a practice snap or preseason snap with the team and instead watched his teammates from the sideline. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent.
Watson spent training camp on the active/non-football illness list and participated in conditioning exercises in an effort to get his weight down to what the team deemed was an acceptable level. Watson did, however, participate in rookie minicamp in May and the team's three-day mandatory minicamp in June, while the team worked to find some support for him.
Had Watson suited up for the Bucs in a regular-season game, he would have been the heaviest recorded player in NFL history.
The Bucs could technically re-sign Watson to their 16-man practice squad if another team doesn't put in a waiver claim for him. Coach Todd Bowles had expressed interested last week in keeping Watson around.
Bowles said last Tuesday, "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."
