Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton (88) runs with the ball during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs. Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Buccaneers starter could potentially miss Week 1 with new injury

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Buccaneers on SI
By River Wells | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 1:04 PM ET

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will already be down Tristan Wirfs and Chris Godwin for their Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons, but they might be out tight end Cade Otton, too.

Otton missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury this offseason, but he returned to practice right at the end of camp. He played with the starters during Tampa Bay's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he hasn't practiced the last two days for Tampa Bay. Head coach Todd Bowles was asked about Otton's injury, and he revealed that the injury is a new one to Otton's leg on top of the previous hamstring injury.

Buccaneers TE Cade Otton could miss some time

"He's sore. He's got another leg injury in addition to [the hamstring], so he'll be out a little bit," Bowles told reporters Wednesday.

When asked if Otton would be ready for Week 1 against the Falcons, Bowles had an unclear answer.

"I won't know until next week," Bowles said.

Todd Bowles says that Cade Otton has another leg injury on top of a hamstring he’s been dealing with. He says he’ll be “out for a little bit” but says he doesn’t know if it will bleed into Week 1 yet
— River Wells (@riverhwells) August 27, 2025

That's a tough development for the Buccaneers. While it seems like there's no definitive answer on whether or not Otton could miss time just yet, the possibility that he could miss time would add him to the roster of players in Tampa Bay set to possibly miss Week 1 — Wirfs, Godwin and defensive back Christian Izien are all set to potentially miss Tampa Bay's first game against their division rivals.

If Otton cannot be back for Week 1, tight ends Payne Durham and Devin Culp will have to shoulder some burden. Durham would most likely take most of Otton's reps, while Culp could be employed as a receiving threat in Josh Grizzard's offense elsewhere, potentially in 2TE sets with Culp and Durham sharing the field.

The Bucs will return to practice on Monday and then take a break on Tuesday — after that, we're back to our Wednesday/Thurdsday/Friday regular season practice schedule.