Austin Watkins Jr. (born February 16, 1998) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at UAB. Watkins has also been a member of the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Memphis Showboats, and Birmingham Stallions.

Early life and high school

Watkins grew up in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

, and attended

North Fort Myers High School North Fort Myers High School (commonly called "North" or "North High") is an American 9-12 high school located in North Fort Myers, Florida. It is the official center for the arts and media for the West Zone in Lee County, Florida, Lee County's Sch ...

College career

Watkins began his collegiate career at

Dodge City Community College Dodge City Community College (DC3, DCCC) is a public community college in Dodge City, Kansas, United States. History Campus Founded in 1935, Dodge City Community College was located on the third floor of the Senior High School Building at 1601 ...

. As a freshman, he caught 38 passes for 376 yards and one touchdown and committed to transfer to UAB after his sophomore. Watkins had 24 receptions for 330 yards with four touchdowns as a sophomore. Watkins played in four games in his first season with the Blazers before opting to redshirt the year. He became a starter going into his redshirt junior season was named second-team All-

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

after catching 57 passes for 1,092 yards and six touchdowns. As a redshirt senior, Watkins was named first-team All-Conference USA after finishing the season with 34 receptions for 468 yards with three touchdowns.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Watkins signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 13, 2021. He was waived/injured on August 17, 2021 and placed on injured reserve. He was released on August 25. He was re-signed to the 49ers practice squad on November 3, 2021. He was released on November 23.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On January 31, 2022, Watkins signed a reserve/future contract with the

. He was waived on May 16.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Watkins signed with Saskatchewan Roughriders of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) on August 7, 2022. He was released by the Riders on August 18, 2022, having spent the entirety of his tenure with the club on the practice roster.

Memphis Showboats

Watkins signed with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) on October 22, 2022. Watkins and all other Tampa Bay Bandits players were all transferred to the Memphis Showboats after it was announced that the Bandits were taking a hiatus and that the Showboats were joining the league.

Birmingham Stallions

Watkins was traded to the Birmingham Stallions on January 11, 2023. He was released from his contract on July 22, 2023, to sign with an NFL team.

Cleveland Browns

On July 22, 2023, Watkins signed with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. Watkins led the Browns in receiving yards in each of their first three preseason games in 2023. He was waived on August 29, 2023 and re-signed to the practice squad. He was not signed to a reserve/future contract by the team after the season and thus became a free agent upon the expiration of his practice squad contract.

Philadelphia Eagles

On January 18, 2024, Watkins signed a reserve/future contract with the

Personal life

Watkins is the cousin of NFL wide receiver and Super Bowl LIV champion,

Sammy Watkins Samuel Benjamin Watkins IV (born June 14, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills fourth overall in ...

, and Super Bowl LII champion,

Jaylen Watkins Jaylen Watkins (born November 27, 1991) is an American football safety who is a free agent. He played college football for the University of Florida. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. High scho ...

. His younger cousin, Winston Watkins Jr., is committed to play for the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

in the class of 2025.

References

External links

UAB Blazers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Austin 1998 births Living people American football wide receivers Dodge City Conquistadors football players UAB Blazers football players San Francisco 49ers players Players of American football from Florida Tampa Bay Bandits (2022) players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Birmingham Stallions (2022) players Cleveland Browns players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Memphis Showboats players Canadian football wide receivers Players of Canadian football from Florida Philadelphia Eagles players