In an effort to free up much needed salary cap space, the Bucs are expected to release longtime tight end Cameron Brate, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The Bucs can save $2.955 million by releasing Brate, who has a cap value of $4.985 million.

Brate, who was one of the longest-tenured players on the Bucs, leaves the team after nine years. Originally an undrafted free agent out of Harvard, Brate played a very limited role in his rookie season. He finished 2014 with only one catch for 17 yards over five games and a single start. Over the next three seasons, Brate accumulated 128 catches for 1,539 yards and 17 touchdowns.

This prompted Bucs general manager Jason Licht to sign Brate to a six-year, $40.8 million contract. The Bucs made this commitment to Brate despite selecting O.J. Howard in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft just the year prior.

Bucs TE Cam Brate – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Over the next two years, Brate showed himself to be a reliable 1B option for the Bucs as Howard was in and out of the lineup due to injury. In 2020, Tampa Bay traded for and lured future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski out of retirement. Brate agreed to a pay cut that offseason in order to stay with the team. He would repeat this in each of the following two seasons.

Despite starting the 2020 season in the TE3 role, Brate would be elevated to the TE2 spot after Howard suffered a torn Achilles tendon. Serving as Gronkowski’s backup, Brate posted 58 catches on 91 targets for 527 yards and six touchdowns over the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Cameron Brate Emerged As Bucs Starter After Rob Gronkowski’s Departure

Following Gronkowski’s second retirement, Brate began 2022 as the starter for the Bucs ahead of rookies Cade Otton and Ko Kieft. Unfortunately for him, the injury bug caught him and he would play in only 11 games last year. He recorded his lowest totals in receptions and yards since 2015 while failing to reach the end zone during the regular season. In Tampa Bay’s playoff loss to Dallas, Brate only notched a single catch, although it was a big one. His eight-yard touchdown grab ended up being the last touchdown pass of Tom Brady’s career.

Brate’s release frees up $2,030,000 in cap space for the Bucs in their quest to become cap compliant. He ends his Bucs career with 273 receptions for 2,857 yards and 33 touchdowns. He is currently 11th in team history in catches, 14th in yards, and third in touchdown receptions. His departure leaves the Bucs with just Otton and Kieft on the roster at the position, along with David Wells and Dominique Dafney, who signed reserve/future contracts with the team in January.