Todd Bowles Evaluates Tight End Position
January 13th, 2026
Despite missing a game this season due to injury, tight end Cade Otton ran the fourth-most routes in the NFL at his position.
He was an extremely busy man in the passing game for a Bucs team that ranked 15th in the league in pass attempts.
Otton was a top-15 tight end in both receptions and receiving yards among tight ends. But he hauled in just 72.8 percent of his targets, which was poor at the position.
The Bucs can do better than the 2022 fourth-round pick. Will Tampa Bay make moving on from Otton a priority? He’s a pending free agent and his market is tough to assess, but it seems he could fetch around $7 million per year.
Todd Bowles talked about his tight ends room during his final show of this season on the Buccaneers Radio Network.
Bowles lamented the loss of Ko Kieft, who was lost for the season after a Week 3 leg injury.
“You know, Ko was our main blocker when he got hurt, but Cade is our do-everything guy,” Bowles said.
Joe was surprised to hear Kieft called “our main blocker” because he only played an average of 7 snaps a game on offense last year.
Bowles referred to Payne Durham as “very tough” and sounded like a coach eager for Devin Culp to be more well-rounded.
“Devin is probably our most athletic. He’s just gotta get a little better in the run game so we can use him. So it’s promising going forward,” Bowles said.
It’s hard to imagine Bowles will want to move on from Otton unless the Bucs invest significant resources at the position. Otton is rather durable and certainly is a legitimate starter. Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht might have a different view.
Joe would embrace a new offensive coordinator coming in and being eager to overhaul the position — or a guy who actually wants to use Durham and Culp as weapons.