If you want to sum up Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton’s career to this point, just look at what happened early in a Week 12 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Trailing the Rams 7-0 with just under 2 minutes left in the first quarter, the 6-foot-5, 247-pound Otton bobbled a pass from quarterback Baker Mayfield that hit him right in the chest.
As Otton tried to pull the ball in, 5-foot-11, 184-pound Rams cornerback Cobie Durant outmuscled him for the ball, intercepted it and ran it back 50 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
The point is that Otton isn’t a game changer. Never was. And that’s what the Buccaneers need at tight end with Mayfield, as he’s shown over and over throughout his career he can thrive with an elite tight end at his disposal.
That’s not Otton, who will be a free agent after this season. The Buccaneers should let him go on his way and either draft a tight end in the first few rounds of the 2026 NFL draft or go after several elite tight ends who will be free agents.
Otton Had Career Season in 2024
More out of necessity than anything, Otton had a career year in 2024 with 59 receptions for 600 yards and 4 touchdowns in 14 games as NFL All-Pro wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin missed extended periods of time — Godwin the last 10 games of the year with a broken leg and Evans missing 3 games right in the middle of the season with a hamstring injury.
In 2025, both of those same players and more have been out of the lineup with injuries and Otton hasn’t been able to be even near as effective with 43 receptions for 411 yards and no touchdowns.
There was some thought, at points in the preseason, that Otton might land an extension that could have been anywhere in the realm of a 3-year, $35 million contract to a 4-year, $50 million contract.
Otton is now in the final season of the 4-year, $4.49 million contract he signed after the Buccaneers drafted him in the fourth round (No. 106 overall) in the 2022 NFL draft.
Instead, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht chose a wait-and-see approach with Otton that’s ended up being the smartest move.
Spotrac projects Otton’s Market Value currently at a 4-year, $48.8 million contract, which is wholly unrealistic. Don’t expect Otton to fetch more than $5 million in average annual salary on the open market.
Looking at Best Tight Ends Available in Free Agency
There are going to be some attractive options at tight end if the Buccaneers want to go the free agency route.
Most notably, within their own conference the Buccaneers might be smart to make a play for Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts, a former No. 4 overall pick. Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox put Pitts at No. 32 overall on his list of the Top 50 NFL free agents in the 2026 cycle.
“Kyle Pitts’ physical upside is tremendous, but his production in Atlanta over the past few seasons has been lacking,” Knox wrote. “The fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft will draw a lot of attention from coaches who believe they can unlock his potential. Other coaches, though, will look for more consistent producers in a deep tight end class.”
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