Football

Saints' Benjamin Watson announces he's expecting twins in touchdown celebration

By Cody Benjamin Nov 5, 2018
New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson celebrates his touchdown reception by putting the football under his jersey to pretend he is pregnant. (AP Photo/Bill Feig)

And then there were seven.

Not only did Benjamin Watson help the New Orleans Saints score seven points in his team’s 45-35 shootout win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, but the veteran tight end also found a creative way to announce he’s expecting his sixth and seventh kids while doing so.

After hauling in one of four Drew Brees touchdown passes late in the second quarter of Sunday’s NFC heavyweight battle, Watson immediately tucked the ball under his jersey to simulate a pregnant belly. And with a raised hand — all five fingers up — representing his current number of children, he hinted at future twins by raising his other hand and flashing two fingers. The Saints later confirmed the celebration as a baby announcement, as did Watson himself after the game.

“We had a few miscarriages over the past years,” Watson told reporters. “They were really tough. So we tried one more time, and my wife’s pregnant not just with one baby but with two. So we’re going from Watson Five to Watson Seven in several months here, but we’re really excited, and we want everybody to pray for us.”

At 37, Watson is not only an established presence in the NFL but an established father — a dad to Grace, Naomi, Isaiah, Judah and Eden with his wife, Kirsten. The 15th-year tight end, originally drafted by the New England Patriots in 2004 and on his second stint with the Saints, has long touted his faith and family as priorities bigger than football, too. A devout Christian with deep ties to local charities, Watson is a repeat finalist for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which honors the league’s most community-oriented player.

He and the Saints (8-1) will return to the field on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

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