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Cade Otton of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers runs with the ball.
The Kansas City Chiefs, after their first losing season since 2012 and missing the playoffs after a 10-year postseason streak, have some serious thinking to do about their roster heading into 2026. And one of the positions that needs some of the most work will be tight end—with future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce contemplating retirement.
Whether Kelce comes back for what will likely be a final season in 2026 or not, the Chiefs need to be looking for a replacement at tight end. On Saturday, one NFL analyst, Gerard Angelo Samillano of ClutchPoints, proposed a solution that could prevent the Chiefs from a steep offensive drop when Kelce decides to hang up his cleats.
With his age-37 season coming up, if he chooses to keep playing, Kelce’s statistics have fallen off over the last two seasons. His total yardage has finished under 900 both years after a streak of seven 1,000-plus-yard campaigns, followed by 984 yards in 2023.
According to Samillano, the Chiefs need to make a signing of a “sneaky good” tight end who is about to hit the free agent market—Cade Otton of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Otton Would Be Inexpensive Option
When it comes to signing a free agent to replace Kelce—or for any reason—the Chiefs face a serious obstacle. Currently at $58 million over the salary cap, the Chiefs rank at the very bottom of the NFL in the category of cap flexibility.
That, of course, does not mean the Chiefs are prevented from signing free agents. With some fancy but legal accounting, there is always a way to clear cap space. Nonetheless, the Chiefs are likely limited to low-cost options in free agency.
Coming off a four-year rookie contract that paid him just $1.1 million per year on average, the 2022 fourth-round pick fits the bill of an effective but inexpensive option.
The sports business site Spotrac estimates that Otton will qualify for a three-year, $23.7 million contract at $7.9 million per year. That would be a substantial raise for the 26-year-old tight end, but compared to the $17.1 million the Chiefs paid Kelce last year, Otton represents a substantial savings.
Otton’s ‘Quietly Productive’ Career
According to the ClutchPoints analyst, “the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end has enjoyed a quietly productive career. He’s been a reliable target for Baker Mayfield, notching 1,627 yards with the star quarterback. When the Buccaneers’ wide receiver room was decimated by injuries, Otton became one of the go-to options for the team.”
Otton caught 59 passes last season on 81 targets for 572 yards. Those numbers, of course, put him well below Kelce’s level. But given the Chiefs’ salary cap limitations, Otton could make a more than serviceable replacement.
“He’s no Kelce, but he can help fill the massive void that will be left by the legend when he hangs up his cleats for good,” Samillano indicated. “Even if Kelce returns for a final year, having another tight end would help the Chiefs. Noah Gray hasn’t had the best 2025 season and the options outside of him are underwhelming at best. Kansas City needs a proven pass-catcher from the position, and they have a potentially cheap option in Cade Otton.”
Gray, the Chiefs’ No. 2 tight end behind Kelce, caught only 21 passes for 178 yards in the 2025 season.
Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering Japan Pro Baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin
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