Cameron Brate will out-snap O.J. Howard… again
It would not be shocking to discover that the Bucs and head coach Bruce Arians had lost all trust in former first round pick and tight end O.J. Howard. After bobbling what should have been an easy catch and run a week ago, Howard was used predominantly as a blocker and was out-snapped by veteran Cameron Brate.
Do not be surprised if the coaching staff decides to side with Brate for the rest of the year as they look to at least pull themselves out of the basement of the NFC South. Arians has stated that his goal for the rest of the season is to win the rest of the games; with that being said, he is going to play the guys he trusts, and forget about the development of younger players.
The second bold prediction is that this coaching staff finally gets fed up with the slow play and mistakes of Howard and opt for Brate. Besides, Brate finished Sunday’s game with 10 catches for 73 yards on 14 targets and looked like the security blanket of old for Winston.
While the Buccaneers should ride out Howard for the sake of the former first rounder’s development, do not trust this coaching staff to make the right decision.