The countdown to the Bucs’ 2026 season is on. Proper now, we’re:
77 days away from Bucs common season kickoff47 days away from Bucs preseason kickoff31 days away from Bucs coaching camp
Within the lead-up to coaching camp, Pewter Report’s Bailey Adams might be diving into storylines for 26 key figures who might be essential to the Bucs’ success in 2026.
Right this moment, the collection continues with tight finish Cade Otton.
26 For ‘26: Cade Otton Bucs Storylines In 2026
Will Cade Otton Stay Up To His New Contract… Or Outperform It?
One of many extra divisive strikes the Bucs made this offseason was re-signing Otton to a three-year, $30 million deal. And it’s divisive for… some cause? Otton’s $10 million common per yr (APY) has him Fifteenth amongst tight ends all through the league. That appears about proper, doesn’t it? Opposite to what some will argue, the 2022 fourth-round choose has rounded into a whole tight finish for the Bucs, doing every part nicely whereas remaining remarkably sturdy.
Are there extra explosive playmakers on the tight finish place than Otton? Certain. However he’s been Mr. Dependable for Tampa Bay, particularly when the staff has suffered by means of a rash of accidents at different positions. Assume again to that midseason stretch in 2024 when the offense was with out Mike Evans, Chris Godwin Jr. and Jalen McMillan. Otton was the one who remained, standing in there and serving as Baker Mayfield’s go-to man for a number of weeks to maintain the offense (sadly not the entire staff) afloat.
In actual fact, even past that stretch, Otton’s 77 first downs from 2023 to 2025 are solely two fewer than Dalton Kincaid and 6 greater than Zach Ertz.
Bucs TE Cade Otton – Picture by: USA Right this moment
That isn’t all dangerous for the Fifteenth-highest-paid tight finish within the NFL, is it? To not point out, he’s advanced and improved into an excellent blocker. He’s an all-around good participant! He’s simply not flashy, and recency bias means a foul second or two final yr – throughout a stretch when the Bucs as a collective group fully forgot tips on how to make performs and win – all of the sudden made him a foul tight finish and made his lack of glove-wearing a nationwide emergency.
So, on the query of whether or not he’ll stay as much as his new three-year, $30 million contract or outperform it, he ought to be capable to stay as much as it on the very least. And there’s an excellent case to be made that he’s able to outperforming it. Otton continues to be Tampa Bay’s TE1, and whereas the staff hopes he has extra assist this yr with the addition of sixth-round choose Bauer Sharp (extra on that later), it’s the fifth-year tight finish out of Washington who will proceed to get the majority of the snaps.
And actually, as divisive of a participant as he grew to become in his first 4 years in purple and pewter, if Otton continues to do the soiled work the best way he has in years previous and lives as much as the 40-60 catches, 400-600 yards and 3-5 touchdowns he’s constantly totaled these final 4 seasons, that $10 million APY might be cash nicely spent for the Bucs.
Will Cade Otton Nonetheless Have To Be The Bucs’ Iron Man In 2026?
This is likely one of the areas wherein Cade Otton most likely hasn’t gotten sufficient credit score during the last three years. He has been a real iron man for the Bucs, main all NFL tight ends since 2023 in snaps with 2,968. He performed 803 snaps as a rookie, which got here out to 70% of the offense’s whole. However when he grew to become Tampa Bay’s true TE1 in 2023, he performed 1,064 snaps, equaling out to 97% of the offense’s whole snaps.
Bucs TE Cade Otton – Picture by: Cliff Welch/PR
Even with three video games missed in 2024, Otton nonetheless performed 856 snaps, or 92% of the offense’s whole. And in taking part in 16 of the staff’s 17 video games final yr, he totaled 993 snaps, good for 93%. The person simply doesn’t come off the sector, partly out of pure power and sturdiness and partly out of necessity. There hasn’t been a real F tight finish on the roster in recent times, that means Otton has been wanted in 12 personnel (two tight finish units). And with no actual high quality when it comes to receiving skill behind him within the tight finish room, he has not often come off the sector in 11 personnel (one tight finish units), both.
Tampa Bay has wanted Otton to be a workhorse, and he has obliged. However does he nonetheless must be the offense’s iron man in 2026? Possibly not. Sixth-round choose Bauer Sharp – regardless of being a sixth-round choose – may very well be the important thing to unlocking a more energizing Otton. As a pure transfer tight finish, the rookie has a talent set that Ko Kieft and Payne Durham don’t possess, that means you possibly can pair him with a kind of two in 12 personnel, giving Otton a break.
Or, as Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo outlined in a latest Saturday Scouting column, Sharp offers Tampa Bay totally different appears to be like to go to in 12. Durham could be a true Y, Sharp could be a true F and Otton could be a pure Y who can flex into that F position.
As helpful as Otton’s sturdiness has been in these final three seasons along with his tight end-leading snap rely, there’s additionally the truth that the staff simply gave him a brand new contract price $10 million per yr. So, conserving his legs contemporary, taking part in to his true strengths reasonably than needing him to be every part for you on the tight finish place and with the ability to be a little bit extra selective in regards to the conditions you’re utilizing him might imply a greater No. 88 over the course of a full season.
Now, this all hinges on Sharp, which is rather a lot to placed on a sixth-round rookie. He’ll should be able to see the sector early the best way another late-round Buccaneer tight ends haven’t been in a position to these days. All indicators level towards that being the case, as the previous Southeastern Louisiana/Oklahoma/LSU man received off to a quick begin in OTAs and mini-camp. However his fast ascension might want to proceed. In any other case, the Bucs might must go proper again to Cade Otton and ask him to placed on the iron man go well with but once more – one thing he’s confirmed he may be relied upon to do.
Does Cade Otton Have A Bigger Function In The Bucs Offense This 12 months?
Cade Otton isn’t Kyle Pitts, so let’s get that out of the best way. However in Zac Robinson’s offense, might Otton have an even bigger position? It’s truthful to surprise, and it may be truthful to imagine so given how a lot of an afterthought he was in Josh Grizzard’s offense final yr. Now, Robinson and the Falcons leaned much more on Pitts final yr largely out of necessity, and now that he’s in Tampa Bay, the offensive coordinator has extra (and higher) weapons at his disposal. But it surely does really feel like there may very well be a bit extra of involvement out of Otton nonetheless. The reason being three-fold.
On the one hand, Robinson will run a system much like the one Liam Coen ran throughout his lone yr because the Bucs’ offensive coordinator in 2024, and that yr was the most efficient of Otton’s four-year profession. He set profession highs in targets (87), receptions (59, which he matched in 2025… surprisingly?), yards (600), first downs (33) and yards per catch (10.2 avg.). His 4 touchdowns additionally tied the profession excessive that he set in 2023 beneath Dave Canales.
Bucs TE Cade Otton – Picture by: USA Right this moment
It was additionally throughout that yr and in that offense that Otton had the very best stretch of his profession, one which included his first profession 100-yard sport after which three touchdowns between the 2 video games instantly after that. Granted, that was the aforementioned stretch wherein the tight finish needed to be the offense for Tampa Bay with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan ineffective/sidelined. However that brings up level No. 2: the absence of Evans.
With out Evans, who left to develop into a 49er this offseason (a call that led on to Otton with the ability to re-sign in Tampa), the Buccaneer offense might want to discover manufacturing in different methods. The cabinet isn’t naked by any means, as Godwin, McMillan, Emeka Egbuka, Tez Johnson and Ted Hurst make up a powerful 1-5 for Tampa Bay. However there could also be extra targets for Otton with out Evans. Or, in one other means, there could also be a deep sufficient rotation of weapons at receiver for defenses to account for that it creates extra alternatives for Otton to provide.
After which there’s the ultimate cause to consider there may very well be extra of a task for Otton this yr, and that ties the primary two sections of this storylines article collectively. On the one hand, the Bucs simply paid Otton $10 million per yr. You don’t do this to disregard the participant within the passing sport, proper? And with the potential for the 27-year-old tight finish to be more energizing and used extra to his strengths due to the presence of Bauer Sharp, perhaps we’re about to see the perfect of Cade Otton on this 2026 Buccaneer offense.
Catch Up On Earlier Installments Of Bailey Adams’ 26 For ’26 Collection
Baker MayfieldBucky IrvingKenny GainwellChris Godwin Jr.Emeka EgbukaJalen McMillan
