Two years ago, wide receiver Quez Watkins was the Philadelphia Eagles’ “Fast Batman.” But he didn’t play a snap during the NFL’s 2024 regular season and will get another fresh start for 2025.

The Arizona Cardinals announced on Thursday they had signed the former Athens High School standout to a reserve/future contract.

After playing his first four seasons with Philadelphia, Watkins signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent last offseason. But Watkins did not make Pittsburgh’s 53-man active roster coming out of the preseason and spent the entire 2024 campaign on the Steelers’ practice squad without playing in a regular-season game.

A sixth-round selection from Southern Miss in the 2020 NFL Draft, Watkins was the Eagles’ No. 2 wide receiver in 2021, when he had 43 receptions for 647 yards and one touchdown, and No. 3 in 2022, when he had 33 receptions for 354 yards and three touchdowns.

In 2022, he joined DeVonta “Skinny Batman” Smith and AJ “Swole Batman” Brown in Philadelphia’s wide-receiver corps.

“Fast Batman” because he ran a 4.35-second 40-yard dash at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, Watkins fell out of favor with Philadelphia fans when he failed to catch a pass from Jalen Hurts at the Kansas City 10-yard line on a second-and-9 throw from the Chiefs 42 in the third quarter of Super Bowl LVII. The Eagles settled for a field goal on the series and a 27-21 lead with 1:45 left in the third quarter. Philadelphia lost to Kansas City 38-35 in the NFL championship game on Feb. 12, 2023.

In the 2023 season, Watkins missed eight games as his production dropped to 15 receptions for 142 yards and one touchdown.

A player signed to a reserve/future contract can be added to an NFL team’s roster when it expands from 53 to 90 players for the offseason on March 12, the first day of the NFL’s 2025 business year. The newly signed players become eligible to participate in offseason workouts, minicamps and OTAs as team members.

Only players who aren’t on NFL active rosters can sign reserve/future contracts.

The Cardinals had three wide receivers with at least 10 receptions in 2024. First-round rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. had 62 receptions for 885 yards and eight touchdowns, Michael Wilson had 47 receptions for 548 yards and four touchdowns and Greg Dortch had 37 receptions for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Dortch is eligible for free agency this offseason.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.