Benjamin Watson, a Northwestern alum and 16-year NFL veteran, retires from football
After a childhood of playing on fields in Rock Hill, S.C., and 16 seasons in the NFL, Benjamin Watson is retiring from football.
Watson’s announcement came in a Twitter thread on Monday. The string of posts gave thanks to the many characters in the tight end’s rise in the sport, and it touched on his personal story.
“I entered the league with a duffle bag and a dream,” Watson’s tweet read. “I exit holding the loving hand of my best friend, my wife of 14 years, and the seven tender gifts God has graciously given us to lead and love. They have supported me with all the love a husband and father could wish for and been an anchor of joy and perspective when the waves threatened to wash us away.”
Watson, 39, grew up in Norfolk, Va, and moved to Rock Hill when he was in the tenth grade, in 1995-96. He attended Northwestern High School — which, back then, was one of two schools in a town that went on to be named Football City, USA.
He attended Duke his freshman year and then transferred to Georgia, where he majored in finance and spent the 2001-03 seasons. He was selected by the New England Patriots in the 2004 NFL draft and had a successful six seasons there. He would later sign with the Cleveland Browns in 2010, the New Orleans Saints in 2013, the Baltimore Ravens in 2016, the Saints again in 2018 and the Patriots in 2019.
Watson ended his NFL career with 547 catches for 6,058 and 44 touchdowns.
His career was one of ups and downs, Watson recounted in his retirement message.
“As a football player, I did not achieve every goal I set for myself,” Watson wrote. “I came up short more times than I would like to count. But I can say, in season and out of season, in wins and losses, after a ruptured Achilles, ruptured disc, torn ACL, concussions, cross country relocations and several other setbacks common to our sport, I was never outworked and never backed down from each challenge.”
In October 2019, Watson was released by the Patriots before he played a snap in the season. It looked like he was headed into retirement. Then, a week later, he announced via Twitter that he had rejoined the Patriots’ roster.
In an interview with The Herald in October, a few days after he re-signed with the Patriots for the final time, Watson said he considered retiring.
“You know it’s coming to an end at some point,” he said. “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.”
Also in that interview, Watson talked about his post-NFL career options.
“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,” Watson said. “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.”
In his retirement message on Monday, Watson named his wife, Kristen, and all seven of his children.
“Together, wherever this tightrope leads, we will continue to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God,” Watson said. “I love you and I love us.
“The future is bright.”
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