Carlos Watkins (born December 5, 1993) 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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). 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 ...

for the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Divis ...

and was selected by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

in the fourth round of the

2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

. Watkins has also been a member of 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

, and

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

Early life

Watkins attended Chase High School in

Forest City, North Carolina Forest City, formerly known as "Burnt Chimney", is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,377 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous municipality in the county. History The Alexander Manu ...

. As a junior, he tallied 50

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

(29 for loss) and 14.0 sacks. As a senior, he made 15 sacks, one

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

and 5 forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

s. He played in the

Shrine Bowl The Shrine Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game. The first game was played on December 18, 1948, at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas, between Hardin–Simmons University and Ouachita Baptist College. The 1949 edition was ...

and the

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl (currently branded as the Navy All-American Bowl for sponsorship reasons) is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is p ...

. He also lettered in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, averaging over 21 points and 10 rebounds per game as a junior.

College career

Watkins accepted football scholarship from

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

. As a

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

in 2012, he played in nine games, recording 16 tackles (one for loss) and 3 quarterback pressures. As a sophomore in 2013, he played in three games with one start, before being involved in a car crash which caused

blood clots A thrombus ( thrombi) is a solid or semisolid aggregate from constituents of the blood (platelets, fibrin, red blood cells, white blood cells) within the circulatory system during life. A blood clot is the final product of the blood coagulati ...

in both of his legs that ended his season. Watkins medically

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

the rest of the season. He totaled 11 tackles (1.5 tackles for loss) and one quarterback pressure. Watkins returned to play as a redshirt sophomore in 2014. He appeared in 11 games a backup, registering 13 tackles (2 for loss) and four quarterback pressures. As a junior in 2015, he started 14 of 15 games, collecting 69 tackles (8 for loss), 3.5 sacks, and an interception, which he returned for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. He was named first-team All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

. In a critical game against the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, he made a game-winning tackle on a last second

two-point conversion In gridiron football, a two-point conversion, two-point convert, or two-point attempt is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that ...

attempt. As a senior in 2016, he posted 82 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss (led the team) and set the school record for defensive tackles with 10.5 sacks (led the team). He received All-

honors for the second consecutive year. On January 9, 2017, Watkins was part of the Clemson team that defeated

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in the

2017 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game that was played on January 9, 2017, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The third College Football Playoff National Championship, the game determine ...

by a score of 35–31, with him making six total tackles. He finished his college career with 30 starts in 53 games, 191 tackles (26 for loss) and 14 sacks.

Professional career

Houston Texans

Watkins was selected by the

in the fourth round (142nd overall) of the

. The Texans acquired the pick by trading

Brock Osweiler Brock Alan Osweiler (born November 22, 1990) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils and was selecte ...

to the

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 ...

. As a rookie, he appeared in 12 games with 6 starts, playing

in a 3-4 defense. He made 21 tackles (3 for loss) and one pass defensed. In 2018, he appeared in 4 games and was declared inactive in 11 contests. He did not play in the seventh game against 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. He tallied 3 tackles (one for loss), one quarterback hit, and one sack. In the season finale against the Jaguars, he had 3 tackles (one for loss), one sack and one quarterback hit. In 2019, he appeared in 10 games with one start, posting 23 tackles (one for loss), one sack, 2 quarterback hits, one pass defensed and one fumble recovery. He started and had 6 tackles (three solo) in the season finale against the

. In 2020, he appeared in 16 games with 11 starts, collecting 27 tackles (4 for loss), 2 sacks and 2 quarterback hits.

Dallas Cowboys (first stint)

On March 22, 2021, Watkins signed with the

, to play as a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in a 4-3 defense. He appeared in 15 games with a career-high 14 starts, while making 32 tackles (4 for loss), one sack, one interception and one pass breakup. He missed the third game against 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 ...

with a sprained knee. On December 2, 2021, Watkins intercepted a pass from

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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

quarterback

Taysom Hill Taysom Shawn Hill (born August 23, 1990) is an American professional football utility player for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Hill is officially designated as a tight end, but was previously officially listed as a ...

and returned it 29 yards for his first NFL touchdown. On March 22, 2022, Watkins re-signed with the Cowboys on a one-year contract. He was released on August 30, 2022, and signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 22. He appeared in 12 games with 4 starts, collecting 30 tackles and one forced fumble. His starts came after

Johnathan Hankins Johnathan Hankins (born March 30, 1992) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he received All-American honors, and ...

was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

with a pectoral injury.

Arizona Cardinals

On March 30, 2023, Watkins signed with the

. He suffered a biceps injury in Week 2 and was placed on injured reserve on September 23. He appeared in 2 games with one start, collecting 7 tackles (one for loss), one sack and one pass defensed.

Los Angeles Rams

On August 14, 2024, Watkins signed with the

. He was released on August 25.

Washington Commanders

Watkins signed with the

' practice squad on August 28, 2024.

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)

On September 18, 2024, the Cowboys signed Watkins to their active roster off the Commanders' practice squad.

Tennessee Titans

On May 13, 2025, Watkins signed with the

References

External links

Tennessee Titans bioClemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Carlos 1993 births Living people American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Arizona Cardinals players Clemson Tigers football players Dallas Cowboys players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen People from Cleveland County, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina Los Angeles Rams players Washington Commanders players Tennessee Titans players