NFC Notes: Kendre Miller, Desmond Watson, Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

Tampa Bay signed DT Desmond Watson out of Florida, who is officially the heaviest player in NFL history at 449 pounds. Watson thinks the record is cool, but wants to be known for much more than just his weight.

“I feel like my name is etched in history, of course, as being the official heaviest player in the NFL, and whatnot,” Watson said, via ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “It’s a good story, but at the same time, I don’t want that to be my narrative and things like that. I want to be known as a football player, and a good football player at that. But it is nice to be able to make history, I guess.”

Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles talked about their vision for Watson, saying they didn’t sign him to step into the rotation immediately. 

“Right now, we just have to see how long he can stay on the field, and [we] put him on a program where we think he can make some progress,” Bowles said. “We didn’t get him to say, ‘Hey, we have to put you on the field right now.’ It’s, ‘Hey, we can try to put you on this program and see what we can come up with and see if we can get our endurance better,’ and have him become a better player that way, then kind of see where he is.”

• Buccaneers CB Zyon McCollum believes the chemistry among the DBs is better now that the nickels, corners and safeties are all meeting together. (Greg Auman)

Panthers

Carolina signed pass rusher Patrick Jones II this offseason after four years in Minnesota. Jones believes this Panthers’ defense has the talent to be as good as the Vikings were a year ago, where they were one of the league’s best defenses. 

“I definitely think we could do something similar, if not better,” Jones said, via ESPN’s David Newton. “I’ve seen it before, so I know what it looks like. I look around the building and see we have exactly what it takes to do that.”

• Panthers DT Derrick Brown is practicing at the start of OTAs, which marks eight months since his meniscus surgery. (Joe Person)
• Carolina WR Xavier Legette said, “it’s great” whenever you can bring in a “masterpiece like that” when talking about first-round WR Tetairoa McMillan. (Mike Kaye)

Saints

Saints RB Kendre Miller has struggled to remain healthy through his first two years in the league, to go along with making mistakes on the field. Kellen Moore said Miller has a “blank slate” going into their offseason program. 

“First day was a blank slate (for Miller). Whatever’s happened in the past, we acknowledged, but it has no bearing in the future,” Mooore said, via SaintsWire.

• Moore noted that Trevor Penning‘s transition from tackle to guard is going well: “He’s doing an excellent job, and he’s embracing it. We feel like guard presents him a great opportunity.” (John Hendrix)