Former New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson could be leaving the field for the broadcasting booth, or at least the pregame roundtable. Michael McCarthy of Sporting News reports that ESPN is interested in bringing Watson into the fold now that he has retired after a 15-year NFL career. He could replace Charles Woodson on their “Sunday NFL Countdown” preview show.
Watson traveled the league in his long NFL career, beginning with the New England Patriots as a teammate of Tom Brady’s under Bill Belichick and finishing it alongside Drew Brees and Sean Payton. He also had stops with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. Watson, a repeat nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, has been recognized as one of the NFL’s advocates for criminal justice reform, and made waves on a CBS Sports panel discussing the state of pro football before Super Bowl LIII:
ESPN declined to comment when approached by Sporting News. The report also suggests Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen as a candidate, given his experience with ESPN and Fox Sports. The success Tony Romo has seen as a color analyst for CBS Sports has driven the big networks to retool their broadcast teams and bring in new voices to appeal to fans. Watson could certainly accomplish that.
