The Tampa Bay Buccaneers face tough decisions in free agency. Will their leading tight end, despite solid production, be shown the door for defensive priorities?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have decisions to make regarding 23 players, and Cade Otton is one of them.
Otton isn't a guy anybody is going to confuse with Rob Gronkowski.
But since Gronkowski retired after the 2021 season, Otton has been Tampa Bay's leading tight end, leading the position group in receiving yards in 2025 and the three previous seasons.
His best was 2024, when Otton put up a career-high 600 receiving yards despite missing three games. This season, Otton played in 16 games and fell a little short of last year's numbers, going from 600 yards to 572 and catching a career-low one touchdown. But Otton was the team's second-leading receiver and, next to rookie sensation Emeka Egbuka, was quarterback Baker Mayfield's most frequent target (80, per Pro Football Focus).
Otton has been praised by his teammates and coaches for attributes such as work ethic and football IQ, but the advanced metrics aren't on his side.
Per PFF, Otton ranked 56th out of 75 tight ends with an overall grade of 57.4.
His receiving grade (58.1) was 42nd out of 52 tight ends, and his run-blocking grade (56.1) was 56th out of 87.
With advanced numbers like that and Otton not being a guy who is going to make people say "wow" on the eye test, it's fair to wonder if the Bucs should move on.
Despite having similar numbers, Otton wasn't the same player in 2025 that he was in 2024.
Right now, Sportac projects Otton to make between $7-10 million per year in his next deal.
The Buccaneers have more pressing needs on defense. And, should he decide against retirement, franchise cornerstone Mike Evans could command up to between $15-22 million a year as an unrestricted free agent. Tampa Bay will need to decide if a similar contract is something the team wants to give to Otton.
If the Bucs want to address the tight end position, they have the option to take Oregon's Kenyon Sadiq in the first round.
Like rookies Tyler Warren (Indianapolis Colts) and Colston Loveland (Chicago Bears) were for their respective teams this season, Sadiq could be a difference-maker right away, so if the Bucs want to turn their attention to offense, that wouldn't be a bad idea.
But in all likelihood, defense will be the focus for the Bucs in both free agency and the draft, and that might not be a good sign for Otton's future in Tampa.
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