Josh Watson (born May 20, 1996) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who is a free agent. 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 ...

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

Early life and high school

Watson was born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

and grew up in

Blue Springs, Missouri Blue Springs is a city located in the U.S. state of Missouri within Jackson County. Blue Springs is located east of downtown Kansas City and is the 9th largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was ...

and attended Blue Springs South High School. As a senior, he was named first-team All-Missouri and won the Mike Jones Award as the best linebacker in

MSHSAA The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) is the governing body for high school activities throughout the state of Missouri. Approximately 580 high schools are members of MSHSAA. The MSHSAA conducts championship-level activi ...

Class 6 after setting school records for tackles in a season with 177 and tackles in a game with 31.

College career

Watson was a member of the

Colorado State Rams The Colorado State Rams are the athletic teams that represent Colorado State University (CSU). Colorado State's athletic teams compete along with 8 other institutions in the Mountain West Conference, which is an NCAA Division I conference and sp ...

for five seasons, redshirting his true freshman year. He played in all 13 of the Rams games as a redshirt freshman, making 37 tackles (six for loss) with one sack. He became a starter the following season and finished as CSU's second leading tackler with 90 tackles along with 7.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks. He finished his redshirt junior season with a team-high 109 tackles and 5.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, two interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and seven pass breakups and was named honorable mention All-

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...

. He again led the Rams in tackles with 131, including 8.5 tackles for loss and one sack, with four passes broken up and two fumble recoveries and was named second-team All-Mountain West. Watson finished his collegiate career with 367 career tackles (27 for a loss), 3.5 sacks and two interceptions in 51 games played.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

Watson signed with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on April 27, 2019. He was waived at the end of training camp during final roster cuts but was re-signed to the Broncos' practice squad on September 1, 2019. The Broncos promoted Watson to the active roster on November 1. He made his NFL debut on November 3, 2019 against 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 ( ...

. On September 5, 2020, Watson was waived by the Broncos, and was signed to the practice squad the following day. He was elevated to the active roster on October 1, October 17, November 14, November 21, November 28, December 5, December 12, and December 18 for the team's weeks 4, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 games against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

, and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. His eight weekly elevations were the most in the NFL in 2020. He was promoted to the active roster on January 2, 2021.On August 24, 2021, he was waived by the Broncos. He was waived on August 24, 2021.

Los Angeles Chargers

On October 5, 2021, Watson was signed to the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

practice squad. He was released on October 25.

Carolina Panthers

On November 12, 2021, Watson was signed to the

practice squad. He was released on December 16.

Houston Texans

On December 21, 2021, Watson was signed to the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Texans on January 11, 2022. He was waived on March 23, 2022.

Carolina Panthers (second stint)

On August 17, 2022, Watson signed with the

. He was released on August 30.

Arlington Renegades

On November 17, 2022, Watson was drafted by the

Arlington Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL (2020), XFL owne ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

Personal life

Watson's father, Steven, played college football at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He is a cousin of

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

winner and NFL running back

Billy Sims Billy Ray Sims (born September 18, 1955) is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons during the 1980s. Sims played college football for the Universi ...

References

External links

Colorado State Rams bioDenver Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Josh 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Kansas City, Missouri American football linebackers Colorado State Rams football players Denver Broncos players Los Angeles Chargers players Carolina Panthers players Houston Texans players Arlington Renegades players