After falling short of winning the NFC South for just the second time this decade, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are back to the drawing board this offseason looking for ways to fix things. One of the first moves the team made in free agency wasn't adding to the defense, but rather investing in offensive weapons by bringing back Cade Otton.
It was up in the air whether Otton would be back after his contract expired, but the Bucs didn't waste much time providing an answer. Moments after the legal tampering period opened, Adam Schefter reported that Otton would be returning to Tampa Bay.
Cade Otton is returning to Tampa Bay, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2026
It's a move tinged with some bittersweetness, as Otton's return comes under the shadow of doubt that Mike Evans will be following suit. All eyes have been on Evans since it was revealed that he'd be testing free agency, and Otton's return seems to indicate that the Bucs might be out when it comes to matching any offers the future Hall of Famer gets.
Let's not make this too much about that, though. Otton returning might be linked to Evans' future but it has a seperate impact. The Bucs leaned heavily on their tight end last season when Evans and other key players missed time with injuries -- a trend that extends back to last year as well.
He finished last season with the 13th-most targets for a tight end, and his production ticked way up when Evans and Chris Godwin suffered injuries. Otton has been a safety valve for Baker Mayfield more than a few times and it's reached the point where he's more of a focal point on offense than we maybe were giving him credit in the past.
Otton returning means the Bucs have more than enough talented mouths to feed on offense. He comes back to a room that has Godwin, Emeka Egbuka, Jalen McMillan, Tez Johnson, and Bucky Irving and could add more weapons this offseason.
More notably, we saw what Zac Robinson was able to do in unlocking levels to Kyle Pitts we hadn't yet seen in his career. That's a major piece of this that needs to be considered a big win, and it's reason to be excited for Otton coming back to an offense where he's primed to make a huge impact.