Tight end Cade Otton is back with the Bucs. So is Ko Kieft, although he’s more of a fullback and special teamer as much as he is a tight end at this point in Tampa Bay’s offense. The organization elected to bring back these two pending free agents to the team, ensuring that they’ll have the same group going into training camp albeit for the possibility of the team drafting a tight end.

Is Otton back because Mike Evans left town? Was it because the Falcons franchise tagged Kyle Pitts so that Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson couldn’t poach him and bring him to Tampa? Certainly there could be some truth behind each of those scenarios, but the reality is that this is the group at tight end the Bucs have heading into the 2026 season. And if the Bucs are going to be better as an offense this year, especially with no Mike Evans, they’ll have to get more production from Otton and tight ends in order to win.

What Were Cade Otton’s Conversation With Zac Robinson Like?

Thankfully, with Robinson as the play caller, there’s an opportunity to bring more out of the group. Robinson played a role in helping Pitts achieve his best year since his rookie season. We all know Robinson comes from the Sean McVay coaching tree like Liam Coen did, and Otton had optimal production with Coen especially when some of Tampa Bay’s top receiving targets were unavailable for a couple of games.

Bucs OC Zac Robinson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Otton met with the media last week and shared what it was like meeting with Robinson and what his vision is for the upcoming season.

“Really positive,” Otton said. “First of all, from people know him, I’ve only heard great things about just the way he operates and how detailed he is and the person that he is. Just getting to talk with him, he seems really excited about the personnel that we have to run the offense and how he envisions it. I don’t think he’s the type of guy who’s fixed on what we’re going to do, he’s going to make it to where we’re all put in positions to succeed based on the player we are. I just really loved getting to talk to him and hear his vision for what we’re going to be.”

Cade Otton On What Was Bucs’ Issues Last Year

Last season was frustrating for the Bucs all around. They fell flat after starting out 6-2, missing the playoffs for the first time in five season. There wasn’t much production from the tight end either as there were just two touchdowns scored by the position. Devin Culp scored the first in Week 15, then Otton had one in Week 18 for the season finale. It coincided with struggles for the whole team, compounding in an lackluster 8-9 finish.

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“It’s hard to pinpoint one thing,” Otton said. “I first go to what could have I done personally to help us. I don’t think it was just one thing. I’m sure there are things we can do week in, week out. But I do think defenses maybe started to attack us a little bit and we didn’t respond as well as we should have on an individuals level mostly.

“We’re going to work as hard as we can to fix that. I know I’m going to work my hardest to step up my game to be more consistent and better across the board. I know each guy in that locker room who’s coming back and who’s coming in is going to do so as well.”

While Otton wouldn’t indulge too much about what Robinson’s plans are, he’s putting his trust in their play caller to get the best out of him and the group.

How Much More Will Bucs TE’s Be Utilized?

“I don’t try to focus on the sorts of things. I do have full confidence in what coach Robinson’s going to do to put us all in positions to succeed,” Otton said. “I think the end result will be us scoring more points and having more red zone opportunities as a tight end group and as an offense as a whole. Its clear we have to improve in those areas. But whether those touchdowns are to me or to someone else, I just want our offense to be humming and to have team success.”

Bucs TE Cade Otton – photo by: USA Today

Being a player that’s hardly taken off the field, Otton is an important feature to Tampa Bay’s offense. He’s continuing to grow and work on his game going into his fifth season and spoke about what he’s working on.

“I take pride in doing everything a tight end can be asked to do,” he said. :I want to work on being more dominant in the run game. I think I put maybe my best tape out there on our last game of the season both in the run and pass game. I just felt really confident in that and my mental process going into that game. Just wanting to build on that and then obviously putting the time and reps in the offseason to make sure we start the season well.”