Dekoda Watson (born March 3, 1988) is a former

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 wi ...

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, ...

. He was drafted by the

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) South division. The cl ...

in the seventh round of the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the fir ...

. 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the sta ...

Early years

Watson attended South Aiken High School in

Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, in western South Carolina. It is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. Founded in 1835, Aiken was named after William Aiken, the president of the S ...

, where he was a letterman in football and track. In

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...

, he recorded 123 tackles, 32 tackles for loss and 11 sacks as a senior, earning him all-state honors by SCVarsity.com and all-southern team by the ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

''. In his junior season, he registered 102 tackles, 29 tackles for loss and 18 sacks from the defensive end position. Watson was named Defensive MVP after recording nine tackles and a sack for the South Carolina team in the annual North Carolina–South Carolina Shrine Bowl. In

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, Watson was an standout athlete as sprinter/jumper. At the 2006 Region 4-4A, he captured two state titles, winning the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

with a leap of 42 ft 10 in (13.10 m), and running the lead leg on the South Aiken

4 × 100 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest ...

, helping them win the event with a time of 42.59 seconds. In addition, he also earned a second-place finish in the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

, with a PR time of 11.07 seconds. Considered a three-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'', Watson was listed as the No. 25 outside linebacker in the nation. He chose

over

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

, and

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

College career

In his initial year at Florida State, Watson played in 12 games and earned one starting assignment at the weakside linebacker position against

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classified ...

, stepping in for the injured Geno Hayes. He totaled 23 tackles to finish second on the team among first year players (second to

Myron Rolle Myron L. Rolle (born October 30, 1986) is a Bahamian-American neurosurgeon and former football safety. He played college football at Florida State, and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He attended the ...

) in total tackles, and earned All-ACC Freshman Team honors by ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

''. As a sophomore, Watson started all 12 games during the regular season at the strong side linebacker position and ranked fifth on the team with a single-season career-high 50 tackles. In his junior year, he ranked fourth among Seminoles defenders with 46 tackles.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Watson was drafted by the

in the seventh round of the

. Watson was signed to a four-year contract on June 18, 2010.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Watson signed with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

on March 12, 2014. He was waived on November 11, 2014.

Dallas Cowboys

Watson signed with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

on November 13, 2014, just four days after playing against them as a member of the

. He was released on May 8, 2015.

New England Patriots

Watson signed with the

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 ...

on May 12, 2015. On August 31, 2015, the Patriots released Watson. On September 16, 2015, the Patriots re-signed Watson. They released him again on September 30, 2015. Watson was once again signed by the Patriots on December 29, 2015.

Denver Broncos

On May 16, 2016, 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 headquar ...

San Francisco 49ers

On March 17, 2017, Watson signed a three-year deal worth $6 million with 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 Nationa ...

. On September 8, 2018, Watson was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. He was activated off injured reserve to the active roster on November 1, 2018. On December 5, 2018, Watson was placed on injured reserve for the second time in a year with a calf injury.

Denver Broncos (second stint)

On April 27, 2019, the 49ers traded Watson, along with a sixth round draft pick, to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a fifth round pick. He was released on August 26, 2019.

Seattle Seahawks

On October 30, 2019, Watson was signed by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

, but was released two days later. On December 18, 2019, Watson was signed for the second time by the

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Dekoda 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Aiken, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina American football linebackers Florida State Seminoles football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Jacksonville Jaguars players Dallas Cowboys players New England Patriots players Denver Broncos players San Francisco 49ers players Seattle Seahawks players African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people