NFC Notes: Hunter Renfrow, Tyler Shough, Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

Buccaneers DT Desmond Watson weighed 464 pounds at Florida’s Pro Day and is now at 437, but even at his slimmer weight, he will be the heaviest player in league history. Watson wants to be known for something other than that.

“I feel like my name is etched in history, of course, as the official heaviest player in the NFL, or whatnot,” Watson said, via Buccaneers.com. “It’s a good story; at the same time, I don’t want it to be my narrative. I want to be known as a football player, and a good football player at that. But it’s nice to be able to make history. . . . I guess again because I did it in college, too. It’s nice to be able to make history but all in all, I am a football player and I want to be known as a good one. So it’s just a process that comes with it, I guess.”

Panthers

The Panthers signed WR Hunter Renfrow following his five years with the Raiders. Renfrow dealt with ulcerative colitis over his final two years in Las Vegas and was worried he was letting his teammates down.  

“I felt so bad those two years, and I felt like I let my teammates down so much,” Renfrow said, via David Newton of ESPN. “Because I had expectations. I just signed a new contract [in 2022]. I had a new coaching staff that I was going to be perfect for. And I was just a dud. I was like, ‘Man, I know I don’t feel well, but I do not want to play football again. Like, I do not want to let people down. I just want to go over here in my corner, do what I do, get into business.'”

Renfrow said his best “wasn’t good enough” before stepping away from the game. 

“Trying my best even though my best wasn’t good enough at the time,” said Renfrow

Renfrow dropped down 30 pounds from his normal playing weight when dealing with ulcerative colitis, describing that he struggled to eat anything for years. 

“I hadn’t been able to eat for three years, and now I was eating everything under the sun,” Renfrow said.

Saints

The Saints picked Texas OT Kelvin Banks Jr. at No. 9 overall instead of jumping for a quarterback in the first round. Mike Sando of The Athletic cites an anonymous executive who thinks New Orleans showed “real discipline” by taking Banks and waiting until the second round to draft QB Tyler Shough. 

“Their first two picks, they showed real discipline,” the executive said. “You thought they could have taken a quarterback at nine because of all the talk, and they were patient. They took a tackle, which they needed to take, and got one of the cleaner players in the draft (Kelvin Banks Jr.). They came back and took (quarterback Tyler) Shough, who was great from an interview standpoint.”

One executive expects Shough to start in 2025. 

“I’d be surprised if the quarterback is not starting for them,” the executive said. “He has the arm talent. He is really smart. He comes across as a veteran already. With him, it’s about staying healthy.”