A former England rugby star has revealed he was earmarked for the NFL (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Former England rugby international Anthony Watson has revealed he had ‘early-stage discussions’ over a move to NFL during his playing days, and was earmarked alongside fellow team-mate Billy Vunipola.
Watson began his rugby career in 2011 and won 56 caps for England, as well as featuring for the British & Irish Lions – often seen as the pinnacle for many within the sport – before he retired in early 2025.
However, his sporting career could have turned out very differently had he turned his hand towards American Football, just like a fellow ex-England star. Christian Wade quit rugby in 2018 and made the transition into NFL in 2019, having been allocated as a running back with the Buffalo Bills with the help of the International Player Pathway Programme.
Rugby to NFL transition
And Watson isn’t confident he would have made it within NFL anyway, referencing Wade’s experience within America’s biggest sport. Most recently, Wales international Louis Rees-Zammit swapped sports but stints with the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t lead to anything permanent.
Watson told CasinoLyze: “It was definitely something I was looking at. I had some pretty early-stage discussions with them, but it was around the time when I tore my Achilles the first time, and we all know how long that took to sort out. After that, my focus returned totally on making the most of what I had left in rugby.
“Having spoken to people in the past, I am really not sure that it’s actually possible. I’m not sure it’s possible for a rugby player to transition because I think that those guys have been doing it from the age of five years. They’ve got that muscle memory. Rugby players just don’t have that.
“And frankly, if Christian Wade can’t make it, no one can because, from an athletic ability angle, they don’t get much better than him in rugby. He performed, and he had the stature, and he had the raw physical ability to do it, so he had everything working in his favor. And he didn’t get a look in! So, it’s tough for me to consider anyone else who may have the potential, unless we’re talking about an offensive lineman possibly or a kicker.”
Watson revealed that after the 2015 Rugby World Cup, he was targeted alongside England team-mate Billy Vunipola for a move to America.
He added: “It was relatively early after the 2015 World Cup and there were some early discussions that dragged out for a period beyond that. I was definitely looking at it and considering it pretty heavily. And then obviously what happened, happened.
“After 2015, there was a lot of speculation about players who could make the transition. I think myself and Vunipola had been earmarked. So there probably was a year or so after that that there were some early discussions. But nothing was set in stone, offering whatever. But there was interest on their part and my part, for sure.”
