Cameron

Brate

This was expected with Brate due a $5 million cap hit. Brate has been linked to retirement coming off an injury-shortened 2022 that sidelined him with a concussion and neck injury. Fourth-round TE Cade Otton started over Brate as a rookie and is in line for every-down snaps with Brate gone. Brate’s release saves Tampa $2 million in cap space. The Bucs can save $4 million if they designate Brate a post-June cut.

Brate has been bandied about as a cap casualty for the Bucs this offseason between the emergence of Cade Otton and Tampa’s desperate cap space situation. The news here is that he also might be considering retirement after missing six games to some scary injuries. Moving on from Brate would only save $2 million in cap space for the Bucs.

The cash-strapped Bucs would save $2 million against the salary cap if they parted ways with Brate. The veteran caught 20 passes for 174 yards this season while battling a frightening neck injury that gave rookie TE Cade Otton a chance to start a handful of games. Brate, 31, has little chance of returning to Tampa in 2023. Otton, who in 2022 led all rookie tight ends in receptions (42) and finished top-five in yards (391) and touchdowns (two), would be an intriguing fantasy option if Brate is gone.

The Bucs restructured Brate’s inflated contract in the offseason to keep their veteran tight end on the roster. Though he was useful at times, Brate was ultimately far less productive than rookie Cade Otton. Brate caught 20 passes for 174 yards this year. The Bucs can eat a $3 million dead cap hit to save $2 million by cutting Brate in the offseason.

With Brate suffering through an issue-plagued 2022-23, the Bucs have moved on to rookie Cade Otton as their primary pass catcher up the seam.

Brate split route-running duties with Cade Otton, who caught his only target for 20 yards. Russell Gage was Tom Brady’s primary intermediate target against the Bengals, seeing a dozen targets and catching two touchdowns. Brate and Otton destroy each other’s fantasy prospects, though Brate has run more routes recently.

Otton split route-running duties with Cam Brate, who saw four targets on the day. Russell Gage dominated intermediate targets, drawing a team-high 12 looks from Tom Brady. As long as Brate is in the lineup, Otton will be a desperation streaming option in deep formats.

With Brate in, Cade Otton will see his targets cut and Brate will likely struggle to get enough targets on his own to be effective. Brate has not had more than five targets since Week 4. Such is life at tight end in fantasy football in 2022.

Brate started the practice week off with consecutive missed practices with an illness before returning to a full session on Saturday, making his presence on the team’s inactives list a bit of a shock for their Week 13 Monday Night Football matchup with the divisions rival Saints. Rookie tight end Cade Otton should revert back to a near every-down presence in Brate’s absence. Also inactive for the Buccaneers are S Mike Edwards, CB Sean Murphy-Bunting, WR Breshad Perriman, QB Kyle Trask, S Antoine Winfield Jr, and T Tristan Wirfs.

Brate missed practice on Thursday and Friday before returning to a full set on Saturday, which leaves open the possibility that he can play through an illness making its way around the league. He now finds himself firmly entrenched in a near even split in offensive snaps with rookie Cade Otton, capping expected upside for the veteran tight end.