Tight end Cade Otton, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent, officially re-signed with the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay is keeping the durable weapon in the retooled 2026 offensive arsenal.
Otton, originally the fifth tight end selected in the 2022 draft, finished second on the Bucs in 2025 with 59 receptions for 572 yards and one touchdown. Due to his multi-faceted skillset, Otton rarely came off the field and posted 993 snaps. Otton runs an advanced route tree and is proficient at chip-and-releases, picking up yards after catch and exploiting soft spots in zone. Otton is effective against both man and zone coverage and exploits the underneath area of the field. He is a threat at all three levels and is the ultimate pluck, tuck and go player. Otton is stout at the point of attack as a blocker and has served as a bridge for Tampa Bay in both the run and pass game.
Over the four seasons he has been in the NFL, Otton has registered 3,716 offensive snaps, the most by any tight end in the league, regardless of when they arrived in the pros. Otton's percentage of offensive snaps played, is 87.5%, also the highest in the league, ahead of San Francisco's George Kittle (86.6%). Otton, who has become a go-to target for Baker Mayfield on third down, is locked in for the foreseeable future.
