Buccaneers TE Cade Otton delivered 8 catches, 77 yards, and 1 TD against Kansas City. He saw a huge 35.4% target share – easily the best on the team.
Bucs WR Jalen McMillan (hamstring) is inactive for tonight’s game vs. the Chiefs. He injured his hamstring in Saturday’s practice, leaving him iffy for Week 10. The Bucs have a Week 11 bye. WR Sterling Shepard (hamstring) is active, joining Trey Palmer, Rakim Jarrett, Ryan Miller, and Marquez Callaway in this undermanned WR corps. TE Cade Otton is the best bet for Bucs targets tonight.
The Falcons and Buccaneers celebrated National TE Day with Kyle Pitts and Cade Otton each scoring two TDs. Pitts ended catching four of five targets for 91 yards while Otton caught nine of 10 targets for 81 yards. Pitts nearly gave one of his away with a fumble over the goal line, but was ruled a TD.
Bucs WR Mike Evans is expected to miss the next three games with his hamstring injury, HC Todd Bowles said. Tampa Bay gets the Falcons, Chiefs, and 49ers the next three weeks before a Week 11 bye. It sounds like Evans has a good chance to be back for Week 12.
Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin suffered a significant left leg injury late in Monday night's loss to the Ravens. He left the field on a cart with an air cast on the bottom half of his leg, and ESPN declined to show replay of the injury (because of the severity). This sure seems likely to end Godwin's season.
Update: HC Todd Bowles said after the game that early indication is a dislocated ankle and that it "doesn't look good," NFL Network reports.
Bucs WRs Jalen McMillan (hamstring) and Trey Palmer (concussion) are out for Thursday night's game vs. the Falcons. That'll leave Sterling Shepard as Tampa's No. 3 WR -- and push more targets to WR Chris Godwin, WR Mike Evans, and even TE Cade Otton. Otton is a viable Week 5 spot starter after compiling 17 targets over the past two weeks.
Buccaneers TE Cade Otton caught six passes for 52 yards in Sunday's win over the Eagles. His 9 targets matched WR Chris Godwin for second on the team. That followed a 7-47 receiving day for Otton in the Week 3 loss to the Broncos. QB Baker Mayfield attempted 47 passes against Philadelphia, his most in any game since joining the Bucs and tied for the second-most in a game for Mayfield's career. That came despite Tampa Bay jumping out to 24-0 lead by the middle of the second quarter. In short, Otton benefited from atypical passing volume. He would need a more permanent shift on that front to support weekly fantasy viability. I'm staying skeptical on Otton as a real lineup option for now. That said, injuries to WRs Jalen McMillan and Trey Palmer that leave them unlikely to play Thursday make Otton worth a look for Week 5 -- especially with four teams on bye.
Liam Coen is expected to be named the Bucs' new OC, according to NFL Network. Coen broke into the NFL coaching ranks as a Rams assistant under HC Sean McVay from 2018 to 2020. He headed to the college ranks in 2021 as Kentucky's OC, re-joined McVay as Rams OC in 2022, and then bounced back to Kentucky's OC job this past year. The most noteworthy aspect of this hire is that Coen spent the second half of that 2022 season with QB Baker Mayfield, who's scheduled to hit free agency next month. A return to Tampa Bay seems to make the most sense for both sides.
Bucs TE Cade Otton tallied a 6-70-2 line in the 39-37 Week 9 loss to the Texans. The second TD was a particularly tough catch in tight coverage to give Tampa Bay a short-lived lead with less than one minute to go. Otton's nine targets in this one led the team and were a big 30% share. This will very likely go down as the best game of Otton’s season (maybe his career). But he’d totaled nine catches on 12 targets over the previous two games, so his role might be growing. Otton might be worth adding in deeper fantasy leagues, although the next two weeks bring negative matchups against the Bucs and 49ers. Otton does still get positive draws vs. the Colts (Week 12) and Falcons (Week 14).
Buccaneers WR Mike Evans racked up 171 yards and caught the team's lone TD pass in Sunday's win over the Bears. Evans tied WR Chris Godwin for the target lead with eight, catching six of those. Godwin posted a 5-58 receiving line. TE Cade Otton added 6 receptions for 41 yards on 6 targets. The Bucs host Philly in Week 3, an opponent they're likely to trail and a defense with multiple injuries across the starting secondary. Expect Evans and Godwin to land well inside starter territory in our Week 3 rankings.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler confirms that Bucs WR Russell Gage will miss the entire 2023 season with the knee injury he suffered in Wednesday's practice. Gage was locked into Tampa's No. 3 WR job before this injury. The Bucs are now left with WRs Trey Palmer, Deven Thompkins, David Moore, and Rakim Jarrett to battle for that job. Palmer is an intriguing rookie and might be worth a look near the very end of best-ball drafts. Gage's injury should mean extra targets for WR Chris Godwin, WR Mike Evans, RB Rachaad White, and TE Cade Otton. We've adjusted all the Bucs in the 2023 fantasy football rankings.
Update: Gage suffered a ruptured right patellar tendon.
Bucs TE Cade Otton shared some insight on new OC Dave Canales’ offense. “I think it’s a really good opportunity for us to get the ball in our hands,” Otton said. “I think easy completions is a big thing in this offense – making it easy on the quarterback. Then for us tight ends, getting the ball early in the down and trying to make plays down the field. So that’s a really exciting opportunity for us. You know they’re going to give us opportunities to do it, and then it is up to us to make the play and earn trust from the quarterbacks and the coaches.” Otton recorded 42-391-2 as a Round 4 rookie alongside Tom Brady. The 24-year-old won't be on the streaming radar to begin next season.
The Bucs are hiring Dave Canales as their new OC. The 41-year-old has spent the past 13 seasons working under Pete Carroll, first at USC and then with Seattle. Canales most recently served as Seahawks QBs coach, helping QB Geno Smith to a career year. But Canales' only experience as an offensive coordinator came at Carson High School in California in 2004 and 2005. He's a total wild card as we start to project what this Bucs offense will look like in 2023. We're also, of course, still waiting to see what Tampa does at QB. Kyle Trask is the only QB currently on the roster.
Bucs TE Cameron Brate is a healthy scratch for today's game vs. the Panthers. It's not a major surprise after the 31-year-old played just 8 snaps last week. Brate's absence is a slight boost to TE Cade Otton's fantasy stock. TEs Kyle Rudolph and Ko Kieft are also active for Tampa.
Buccaneers TE Cade Otton (quadriceps) practiced in full again on Friday and doesn't carry an injury designation for Week 17 vs. the Panthers. At first glance, Otton's 23 targets (8th-highest among TEs) since Week 13 pique some fantasy interest. Digging a little deeper, you'll find the rookie ranks 26th in target share (11.9%) with a mere 9.2% air yards share in that span. Otton is a decent speculative albeit unreliable TE streamer in Week 17 on raw volume alone, but that's about it.
Buccaneers TE Cade Otton (quadriceps) practice fully on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday. This upward trend bodes well for the rookie's status ahead of Week 17 vs. the Panthers. We'll keep an eye on his status tomorrow in case anything changes.
Buccaneers TE Cade Otton (quadriceps) did not practice on Wednesday. We'll continue to track the rookie's status for Week 17 vs. the Panthers as the week evolves. Check back in tomorrow for updates.
Bucs TE Cameron Brate (illness) put in a full week of practice and isn’t listed on the final injury report. He’ll be back for Sunday’s game vs. the 49ers. Brate isn’t a fantasy option, but his return knocks TE Cade Otton out of consideration.
Bucs TE Cameron Brate (illness) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. He should be back for this weekend's game vs. the 49ers, which would knock TE Cade Otton out of fantasy consideration.
Bucs QB Tom Brady completed 36 of 54 passes for 281 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT in a comeback win over New Orleans. Brady was on his way to a true dud until late in the 4th, when both scores surfaced. He hit Cade Otton — and later Rachaad White — to seal the comeback victory. Volume continues to hold up Brady, who now leads the league with 524 attempts. He’ll be more of a QB2 this week against San Francisco.
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