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Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton (knee) hasn't played football in three straight weeks after suffering a knee injury in Week 16. While he was able to play 92% of the snaps that game, he may have been playing through something significant.
With the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs about to begin, the Bucs will need all hands on deck. They'll face the Washington Commanders on Sunday, who ended the season 12-5, and boast one of the league's most efficient offenses.
So is Otton still hurt or will he play on Sunday night?
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Is Cade Otton Hurt? Injury Update for Wild Card Weekend
It doesn't look like he's completely out of the woods yet, as he's listed as "Questionable" for January 12's game, but it looks like he's going in the right direction. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles seems to think he's on the right track to play.
Five players listed as questionable on Bucs' final Wild Card week injury report: CB Jamel Dean, S Mike Edwards, DL Logan Hall, TE Cade Otton and S Antoine Winfield Jr. https://t.co/U7DdHAMGzA
— Scott Smith (@ScottSBucs) January 10, 2025
And after a limited practice on Wednesday, he was able to practice in full on both Thursday and Friday. Generally, we rarely see players miss games during weeks in which they had multiple full practices, so it would surprise us if Otton couldn't take the field.
Around three to four weeks after initial injury for ailments that don't get players put on injured reserve is also a reasonable timeline for returns as well. And that's exactly where we're at. It's a bit surprising he wasn't cleared to play, though, so anything can happen.
Cade Otton Fantasy Football Outlook for Wild Card Weekend
It's hard to ascertain his potential performance -- he could still be dealing with lingering effects from the knee issue. We have to assume that a rising tide will lift all boats, though, and in a game that looks primed to be a shootout, we could see plenty of passes from quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The Buccaneers are looking to make it back-to-back wins over the Commanders when they meet on Sunday night. pic.twitter.com/zRoD7EatLE
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) January 10, 2025
The first time these two teams met was in Week 1 of this year, and TB put up 37 points. Otton was only targeted twice in that game, catching one pass for a measly five yards, though. He's become more involved in the game plan since then, but his last four games have still brought minimal production for fantasy football managers.
So it's really difficult to ascertain his potential production, as it is with most NFL tight ends. But the Commanders have allowed the 10th-fewest PPR fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season, and average allowing just 4.0 receptions per game to that group.
So we're not too excited and have him well outside the TE1 range.
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