Off-field struggles derailed his early career
“But here’s what you did not see: a 21-year-old drinking every night. That’s no exaggeration. Watkins partied ‘every night’—yes, ‘every night,’ he repeats—turning downtown Buffalo’s Chippewa Street into his own personal frat party. Beer, liquor—Watkins didn’t discriminate in lighting his $12.8 million signing bonus on fire with friends who followed him north. ‘Living fast,’ he calls it, holding up a pretend blunt. Yeah, he smoked plenty too.
He treated his body terribly.
‘I would go out and get wasted,’ he says. ‘Wasted wasted.‘”
I really don’t think the details of Watkins’ early career issues have every fully come to light until right now. Dunne points to the obvious injury-laden days at Buffalo but then pulls back the curtain to reveal a myriad of other issues happening simultaneously. Things like substance abuse, depression, family legal troubles, and even death impacted Watkins during his early career. He was in an endless battle to reclaim himself while trying to balance an NFL career. That can’t be an easy task and in part explains his struggles early on.