Bucs DT Desmond Watson weighed in at 464 pounds and became the heaviest player in NFL history when Tampa Bay signed him as an undrafted rookie. Watson has lost weight since joining the team, but GM Jason Licht said the team still wants him to focus exclusively on his weight loss and conditioning before he’s ready to practice with the team.
“We have some milestones we want him to hit before we get him out there,” Licht said, via Pro Football Talk. “He’s doing a solid job getting there. That’s all I’ll say.”
Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles said recently that rookie DB Shilo Sanders is “coming along” and picking up the team’s defensive scheme.
“He’s coming along,” Bowles said, via The Athletic. “He’s getting the scheme down. He has made plays like everybody else back there. There are a few tests that come up during the preseason. … The three preseason games and practices will be others. He’s got a chance to make it.”
Sanders has set some lofty goals for himself in the NFL.
“I want to be All-Pro special teams,” Sanders said. “Show the coaches I could play, and that I play hard and be physical and earn their trust, make it on the field (defensively) one day.”
Sanders is focused on staying in a positive mindset about the opportunity with the Buccaneers.
“It’s just about being real about this situation,” Sanders said. “If things are going on that you can’t control, it’s not gonna help by moping about it or being sad — just like his situation, be real about it, and it is what it is. And then you have, like, a peace within yourself when you’re OK with any outcome, because, you know God’s got you. That’s why we’re not worried about anything. It’s the same with me here. I just control what I can control. … Keep running to the ball because you can’t coach effort. So, at the end of the day, play hard, play good, physical football and be smart. That’s all I can do.”
Falcons HC Raheem Morris said he’s WR Drake London has a calm demeanor around the locker room, but during games, the receiver turns into a “bully.”
“Drake is a really funny one because he comes across as this nice, calm-demeanor human, and he is absolutely the opposite when it comes to football,” Morris said, via Josh Kendall of The Athletic. “He’s a bully. He’s a dog. I absolutely love that about him.”
Morris added that he rarely talks to London during games because he has a “darkness about him.”
“There will be things that you have to correct after the game with Drake because he’s going to go dark during the game,” Morris said. “He’s got a darkness about him that I love and that I think his teammates appreciate.”
London assures...