Is a former Gator the Bucs' answer to stopping the Eagles' tush push?

Desmond Watson is one step closer to making his NFL debut. The 449lb defensive tackle was waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in August due to health concerns related to his bodyweight. They tasked him with losing a significant amount of weight in order to decrease those health concerns and give him a better chance at longevity in the league.

Watson went out and has been putting in the work since he was waived. Last week, Watson was seen at Bucs practice, and on Tuesday, it was announced that the former Florida Gator has accomplished the goals of the Bucs’ front office, and in return, Tampa Bay has signed him back onto the team’s practice squad and cleared him to begin football activities with the team.

After going undrafted in the 2025 NFL draft, the Bucs signed Watson as an undrafted free agent in late April. At his Florida Pro Day he weighed 464lbs. By the time camp rolled around he was down to 449lbs, but was still not near the weight the Bucs wanted him at.

While the exact amount of weight lost was not announced, some reporters have noted that the defensive tackle from Plant City has dropped about 30 pounds, as Tampa head coach Todd Bowles was looking for him to do.

Desmond Watson back with the Tampa Bay Bucs

Tampa Bay hosts the Philadelphia Eagles in a big NFC matchup. Many began to speculate that the Bucs were bringing in Watson in hopes to have him on the roster to stop Philly’s fan-renowned “tush push,” however Todd Bowles said it wasn’t likely. However, at the same time, he did not say Watson would not be on the roster, so the speculation is still in the air as to if they will add the big defensive tackle to the roster to shut down the Eagles.

“He had a good workout, we’ll see where he is, from signing him” said Bowles on Monday during the Bucs’ first press conference of week four. “But we’ll never bring him in just to stop a tush push. If we gotta bring in a guy just to stop one play and tush push never comes up, you’re wasting your time,” noted Bowles. “If we bring him in, we think he can play, and not just for a Philadelphia thing. Very unlikely he’ll be ready to play once bring him in for Philadelphia right now anyway, so it’s just a matter of us making room and seeing if we have a place for him and what we see for him in the future,” said Bowles.

So it wasn’t confirmed nor denied, but rather left as to be determined on if the former Gator defensive ace will make his NFL debut this weekend.