EXCLUSIVE: Ben Watson talks re-signing with Patriots, Rock Hill and life after football
NFL tight end and Northwestern alum Benjamin Watson has had a long week and a half.
On Monday, Oct. 7, after over a decade in the NFL, the New England Patriots released Watson, 38, before he played a snap this season. It looked, for a moment, like he was headed into retirement.
Then, a week later, he announced via Twitter that he had rejoined the Patriots’ roster.
In a phone interview with The Herald on Wednesday evening, Watson opened up about how last week went for him and his family, what Rock Hill means to him and what his future holds — on and off the field.
Some questions and answers have been edited for brevity.
‘Last week was tough’
Zietlow: I see that you have re-signed with the Patriots. How has this process been? What has this week been like for you?
Watson: I was released last Monday, and then, this Monday, they called and inquired and said they’d be interested in having me back. You know, there’s a process there of, ‘Do I want to continue and go back playing? What’s the contract situation?’ Because obviously a week goes by, and after being released, you start to think: ‘Alright, well, maybe it’s time for me to move on from football. I’m not getting any younger.’ (Laughs.)
I signed on Monday and practiced on Tuesday, and we have (Wednesday) off because we play on Monday night.
Zietlow: What were your thoughts as you considered life after football? Take me through that part of your week.
Watson: It was tough. You know it’s coming to an end at some point. For me, it’s right around the corner. This is my 16th year, and for me, that’s a long time to play football, so you know the end is coming soon. So when I was released, it was really sad because of all the work that had gone into being here. You know, moving, going through training camp and all those sorts of things …
I mean, you know that this is the NFL and that anybody can go at any time at that point, and also from this point moving forward. You know that’s part of the business. But when it happens, it’s still tough just because of the work that goes into it. The last week was tough.
Looking back on God’s grace, we (hosted) a couple, some friends of ours, husband and wife, from New Orleans. They were going to come to a game. They said they were coming. They wanted to come early in the year because they didn’t want to be in the cold. (Laughs.) We ended up being able to spend, my wife and I, a lot of time with them, and I think that for us, considering what had just happened, it was ordained for us, being able to spend that uninhibited time together — especially at that point in time, with that type of disappointment.
Last week ended up being a good week in spite of what happened on Monday.
‘Rock Hill is home’
Zietlow: Although I haven’t been here for very long, it’s become clear to me that you mean a lot to this community and you make it proud. What does Rock Hill mean to you?
Watson: Well, to me, Rock Hill is home. When I say I’m going home, I say Rock Hill.
I didn’t grow up in Rock Hill. I grew up in Norfolk, Va. That’s like home home. (Laughs.) I was there until tenth grade. And then we moved to Rock Hill: a place that I’d never heard of; you couldn’t find it on the map. We moved there in about 1995-96, and my parents have been there ever since. I’m the oldest of six — (my younger siblings) have spent a lot more of their childhoods there.
But for me, coming to Rock Hill was a brand new place.
What I loved about Rock Hill is people embraced us. People welcomed us. For my athletic career, for my football career, it was the best thing. I came to a place with two high schools at the time. It was kind of like the whole place shut down on Friday nights after the games, and it was just fun and exciting to go out there and play in that type of environment.
And so I’ll always love Northwestern. I’ll always love Rock Hill. I have arguments all the time about like, ‘Which high school is better?’ And I say, ‘My high school would beat your high school.’
That’s the fun thing about being in the league: Rock Hill has quite a few guys in the league, so we all have that sort of camaraderie, and right now, we got Stephon Gilmore, so we were able to talk about Rock Hill and all those sorts of things with the other guys.
So for me, Rock Hill is still home, and it’s a place that I’ll always love and I’ll always come back to, especially with my parents still there.
Zietlow: Would you say there is a brotherhood of players who are from South Carolina? Is there almost like a common experience you share?
Watson: Yeah, especially guys from Rock Hill. And like I said, there’s a number of us in the league. And even when, you know, we’re watching film and I see a guy from Rock Hill, I might say in the film room: ‘Hey, that’s such-and-such from Rock Hill, South Carolina!’ …
But even in South Carolina, I played with guys like Troy Brown… I played with Sheldon Brown, and he went to Lewisville. So a lot of the guys from the state know each other, and there definitely is this sort of camaraderie because we have similar experiences.
‘After the game, I’m not sure’
Zietlow: So, what’s next?
Watson: Well, right now my future is to prepare, to perform to the best of my ability on the field. We got meetings tomorrow, then practice, then (I need) to be a father to my seven children and a husband to my wife. That’s what my immediate future is and that’s what I’m pouring my energies into right now.
As far as after the game, I’m not sure.
When I was fully thinking I would retire, I was looking at television, broadcasting. I’ve looked at some sort of ministry or service in some capacity. I really feel fulfillment when I do those sorts of things. I’ve thought about going back to school, working on a Master’s, that sort of thing.
There are a lot of opportunities out there. It’s exciting to think about what’s next, what the next challenge is going to be. I’ll be really excited about it when that time comes. And I mean, who knows when that’s going to happen? But I know that it’s coming up soon, and I’m looking forward to it.
Zietlow: What would you study?
Watson: Well, I was a finance major at Georgia, so I think there’s obviously the MBA, but I’ve also wanted to take some seminary classes. I love to learn about government. That is something that’s always interested me.
I’m not sure if I’ll go the business route; part of me wants to definitely get more biblical training; but also, (I’d like to) see how I can serve, not only local communities, but also serve the country. That may mean some sort of governmental involvement.
Zietlow: Final, hard-hitting question: Your Trojans have won only one game this season, but they’ve endured an incredibly tough schedule. How do you see Northwestern ending this season? What’s the Ben Watson prediction?
Watson: You know, I’m really happy there’s Twitter. (Laughs.)
I’ll be sitting there and be like, ‘Ah man! C’mon guys!’ And my wife will look at me, like, ‘What are you talking about?’
I would say: ‘We just scored a touchdown.’ Or, ‘We just lost.’
She’s like, ‘Who?!’
And I’m like, ‘Northwestern.’
Then she says, ‘Ahhhh your high school, huh?’ (Laughs.)
It’s exciting that I’m able to follow everything. And I know that they’re having a rough year, but there’s always an opportunity to turn things around…
I never make predictions. I’ve been in situations where I’ve won a bunch of games, and situations when I’ve lost a bunch of games. But what you can’t do is ever give up. So my advice to them, and what I always root for, for them, is that they make us proud by how they play.
I hope they turn it around and make the playoffs, but even if they don’t, I’m still going to be a Trojan for life. I’m still going to be proud of them.
This story was originally published October 17, 2019 at 1:16 PM.
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