The Tampa Bay Buccaneers actually were not far off from a win in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals on the road, losing 33-27 despite Baker Mayfield turning the ball over three times in a nightmare performance in his first game as one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL.
Mayfield did his best to lose the game with turnovers and did very little to bring the team back into the game, bereft of his customary big plays. But Mayfield was not the only player in the Buccaneers passing attack who struggled badly against Cincinnati. The offensive line was honestly disappointing against a Bengals team without Tampa native Trey Hendrickson off the edge, while the pass catchers could have been better, too. Emeka Egbuka looked solid in leading the way, showing no rust after a preseason toe injury, but he was the only receiver on the team with 50 yards. And veteran Chris Godwin Jr. was the only other one to even snag 40.
But the worst of the worst honor goes to tight end Cade Otton. Like Baker Mayfield, Otton is coming into this season with a fat new paycheck that has even more controversy to it than Mayfield's payday, because unlike Mayfield, Otton has never actually been great for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was one of the NFL's least efficient starting tight ends.
Cade Otton was disappointing in Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Week 1 loss
Whereas Mike Gesicki steamrolled the Buccaneers defense with 78 receiving yards and a touchdown as the biggest weapon on the Bengals, Otton was a tremendous liability to the Buccaneers offense. He was out there missing wide open catches and could only convert three receptions into 26 yards, which is, unfortunately, par for the course for Otton, who regularly averages less than 10 yards per reception for the Bucs despite playing with Baker Mayfield as his starting quarterback.
Rookie Buccaneers tight end Bauer Sharp is currently the backup and mostly an afterthought to fans, but after fighting his way onto the roster as a sixth round sleeper, it's hard to say that he can be any worse than Cade Otton. Sharp isn't seen as being as great of an athlete on paper, but he is an underrated athlete who also blocks way, way better than Otton. And after watching how poor Otton was against Cincinnati, it's hard to say that he can't be a better pass catcher. Otton's terrible day leaves the door open for Sharp to get some starts.
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