Cade Otton: A Great Fit

The Buccaneers are heading deeper into their offseason program and are still doing so with Rob Gronkowski not on the roster. Now, you’ve seen and heard plenty about Gronk’s position on a return or retiring. The click needy media pages will continue to REPORT to you about everything he says or does and how it may or may not insinuate that Gronk may be hinting at a decision. We’ve heard he’s coming back. So we will see. But what if Gronk doesn’t come back?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted a tight end out of the University of Washington that could help fill the void. Of course, he isn’t Gronk, as there can be only one, but Cade Otton may just fit the bill.

The kid has skills and he is smart. If you’ve seen his highlights, you will see that he can find the open spot on the field with ease. He has pretty good speed also. He runs somewhere around 4:8/ 40, but at 6’5, 248 lbs; that is not that not bad at all, and he looks faster than that. He can block! That is another added bonus and something the team looks for. The whole catching in traffic and breaking tackles thing is all fine and dandy, but blocking is important and something the Bucs want from their tight ends. He will go that extra to extend yardage, making him perfect for the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers are excited for Cade Otton, and he is excited to be a part of this team and feels that being a part of this offense is a great opportunity.

“I think it’s a great fit. It’s super cool to see the way this offense treats their tight ends. We can basically line up in any spot on the field and run all of the same routes as wide receivers do. It’s a great opportunity to be a big part of the team and contribute to the offense in a big way.”

Many don’t know this, but the rookie tight end had ankle surgery late last season but says that he is feeling better every day and is hoping that his recovery time will go by quickly. The Bucs have a fantastic training staff, so he should be ready to go, something he is excited for.

“Right now, we’re just taking it day-by-day,” Otton said. “I’m feeling better every day. I’m hoping it goes quickly, but I’m getting to work with a great training staff. Right now, I’m just taking a lot of mental reps, but I’m excited to be ready to go.”