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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

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 and nicknamed the 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 ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the ...

, and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

Early life

Watkins grew up in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,395; it was estimated to have grown to 95,949 in 2022, making it the List o ...

, 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 Sc ...

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 season. 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 (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

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

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(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 The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal ...

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

after it was announced that the Bandits were taking a hiatus and that the Showboats were joining the league.

Birmingham Stallions (first stint)

Watkins was traded to the

Birmingham Stallions The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their ...

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

. 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

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. He was waived on August 27.

Birmingham Stallions (second stint)

On October 30, 2024, Watkins re-signed with the Birmingham Stallions. He was released on May 14, 2025.

Personal life

Watkins is the cousin of NFL

and

Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 NFL season, 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2019 Kansas City Chiefs season, Kansas City ...

champion,

Sammy Watkins Sammy Watkins (born June 14, 1993) is a former American professional football wide receiver. He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, twice earning first-team All-American honors. Watkins was selected by the Buffalo Bills fourth overal ...

, and

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. As a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 13 years earlier, the game was between the National Football Conferen ...

champion, Jaylen Watkins. 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: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

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 21st-century American sportsmen