Desmond Watson, NFL's heaviest player, placed on injury list because of weight

TAMPA, Fla. — Desmond Watson’s quest to make the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will get a late start.

Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said the heaviest player in NFL history is day to day after starting camp on non-football injury list because of his weight.

“It’s just about trying to get him better, to be a healthier player and getting him on the field a little more,” Bowles said Wednesday. “That’s kind of where I’m at right now. He’s working at it, and we’re working with him and that’s all you can ask right now.”

Watson, who played at Florida, was signed after going undrafted in April. He weighed 464 pounds at the school’s pro day and lost 25 to 30 pounds before the draft.

“I don’t have a timetable on what we can get him down to or when that comes,” Bowles said. “He’s from Armwood, he went to Florida, so he’s used to the heat. That’s not a big factor in it. We’ve just got to see what happens.”

The 6-foot-6 defensive tackle has been working with a team nutritionist, and the team hasn’t said what would be an ideal playing weight for him.