 Watford with theArizona Cardinals in 2014 | |||||||
| No. 78, 71 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Guard | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | (1990-06-24)June 24, 1990 (age 35) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
| Listed weight | 300 lb (136 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Philadelphia (PA) Simon Gratz | ||||||
| College | James Madison | ||||||
| NFL draft | 2013: 4th round, 116th overall pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Earl Watford (born June 24, 1990) is an American former professionalfootballguard. He playedcollege football for theJames Madison Dukes and was selected by theArizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the2013 NFL draft.
He attendedSimon Gratz High School inPhiladelphia, and playedhigh school football for the Gratz Bulldogs. He was a first-team all-city selection as a senior, and was named to the second-team All-Decade Public Team on the defensive line by thePhiladelphia News. Watford did not begin playing football until his junior year and played defensive end for Simon Gratz High School.[1]
Head coachMickey Matthews stated that the main reason they recruited Watford was his large size. He was originally recruited as a defensive end, but the coaching staff realized he would be better suited to be an offensive linemen.[1]
Watford attendedJames Madison University inHarrisonburg, Virginia, where he played for theJames Madison Dukes football team from 2008 to 2012. He started in 37 games over his college career, and was a first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) selection as a junior in 2011, and again as a senior in 2012.
On January 8, 2013, it was announced that Watford had accepted his invitation to play in the2013 East–West Shrine Game.[2] On January 19, 2013, Watford played for formerAtlanta Falcons' head coachJerry Glanville's East team that lost 28-13 to the West. Watford was one of 57 collegiate offensive linemen to attend theNFL Scouting Combine inIndianapolis, Indiana. He completed all of the combine drills and finished fifth among all offensive linemen in the vertical and ninth in the40-yard dash.[3] On March 18, 2013, Watford attended James Madison's pro day, but chose to stand on his combine numbers and only perform positional and blocking drills. During the draft process, attended private workouts and meetings with a few teams, including thePhiladelphia Eagles,Cleveland Browns, andArizona Cardinals.[1] At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, NFL draft experts and scouts projected Watford would be a fourth or fifth round pick. He was ranked the seventh best offensive guard in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[4]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft3+3⁄8 in (1.91 m) | 300 lb (136 kg) | 34 in (0.86 m) | 10 in (0.25 m) | 5.06 s | 1.80 s | 2.95 s | 5.00 s | 7.77 s | 30 in (0.76 m) | 8 ft 11 in (2.72 m) | 24 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Combine[5] | ||||||||||||
TheArizona Cardinals selected Watford in the fourth round (116th overall) of the2013 NFL draft.[6] Watford was the 14th player ever selected in theNFL draft from James Madison. He also became the fourth highest selection in the school's history.[7] Earlier in the draft, the Arizona Cardinals also selectedNorth Carolina's guardJonathan Cooper in the first round (seventh overall).[8]
On June 4, 2013, the Cardinals signed Watford to a four-year,$2.59 million contract.[9]
Throughout training camp, Watford competed againstChilo Rachal,Daryn Colledge,Jonathan Cooper,Paul Fanaika,Mike Gibson, andSenio Kelemete for the starting offensive guard role. Head coachBruce Arians named Watford the backup offensive guard behind starters Daryn College and Paul Fanaika to begin the regular season.[10] Watford spent the entire2013 season on the bench and was inactive for all 16 regular season games.
The following season, Watford competed against Jonathan Cooper for the vacant starting left guard role after the departure of Daryn College to theMiami Dolphins in free agency. Watford and Cooper were named the backup offensive guards behind startersPaul Fanaika andTed Larsen to start the regular season.[11]
On September 18, 2014, he made his professional regular season debut during theArizona Cardinals' 25-14 victory over theNew York Giants. He missed five games during the season (Weeks 8-12) after suffering a high ankle sprain.[12] He finished the season with ten games and zero starts as the Arizona Cardinals finished second in theNFC West with an 11-5 record. On January 3, 2015, Watford played in his first career playoff game as the Arizona Cardinals lost to theCarolina Panthers 27-16 in the NFC Wildcard game.[13]
During the off season, the Arizona Cardinals saw the departure ofPaul Fanaika, signed free agent guardMike Iupati, and moved Ted Larsen to center. With Iupati slated as the starting right guard, Watford competed againstJonathan Cooper for the vacant starting left guard position. In an unexpected move, the Arizona Cardinals named Watford the starting right tackle, ahead ofBradley Sowell. He would replaceBobby Massie who was in the midst of serving a two-game suspension after an incident during the week of theSuper Bowl.[14]
He made his first career start in theArizona Cardinals' season-opening 31-19 victory over theNew Orleans Saints. On December 8, 2015, the Cardinals placed Watford on injured/reserve after he suffered a hand injury, effectively ending his season.[15] He finished the season with two starts and appeared in eight games. Watford also missed three games during the season (Weeks 6-8).
The Arizona Cardinals signedEvan Mathis to be the starting offensive guard oppositeMike Iupati. Watford competed for a backup guard role againstCole Toner. Head coachBruce Arians named him the backup left guard to Iupati to start the regular season.[16]
After starting the season in a reserve role, Watford was named the starting right guard for a Week 3 loss at theBuffalo Bills. Evan Mathis was inactive after suffering a foot injury. Watford was named the starting right guard for the rest of the season prior to the Arizona Cardinals' Week 6 victory over theNew York Jets. He replaced Evan Mathis in the lineup after Mathis suffered an ankle injury and was placed on injured/reserve for the remainder of the season.[17] He finished the 2016 season with ten starts in 15 games.[18]
On March 11, 2017, theJacksonville Jaguars signed Watford to a two-year, $6 million contract that included $750,000 guaranteed and asigning bonus of $250,000.[19][9]
Throughout training camp, he competed againstA. J. Cann andPatrick Omameh for one of the starting guard jobs. Head coachDoug Marrone named Watford the backup to A. J. Cann and Patrick Omameh to start the regular season.[20][21]
He was released on September 8, 2017.[22]
On October 2, 2017, the Cardinals signed Watford after starting left guardMike Iupati suffered a triceps injury and was placed on injured reserve. The terms of his contract were for one-year and $775,000.[23][9] Upon arrival, he was named the starting right guard withAlex Boone moving to the left. He started Weeks 5-14, was inactive for 15-16, before returning for the season finale. He finished with a total of ten games and nine starts.[24]Pro Football Focus gave him a 36.7 overall grade, but gave him "high quality" marks for run and pass blocking.[25]
On April 3, 2018, Watford signed a one-year contract with theChicago Bears.[26] He was released on August 26, 2018.[27]
On August 28, 2018, Watford was signed by theCleveland Browns.[28]
On March 15, 2019, Watford signed a one-year contract with theTampa Bay Buccaneers.[29]
On December 15, 2020, Watford was signed to theNew England Patriots practice squad.[30] He was released on December 29, 2020.[31]
On January 15, 2021, Watford signed with the Buccaneers.[32] He was waived on January 22,[33] and signed to the team's practice squad on January 27.[34] His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on February 16, 2021.[35]
On August 12, 2021, Watford re-signed with the Buccaneers.[36] He was placed on injured reserve on September 6, 2021. He was released on September 14.