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BY IRA KAUFMAN

It’s happened before in Buccaneer history — but you really have to dig through the rubble to find a comparison.

With seven games remaining in this up-and-down regular season, no Tampa Bay tight end has reached the end zone.

Zero. Bupkis. Nada.

Although Cade Otton ranks second on the team with 37 catches and 53 targets, he has yet to record a touchdown reception. In fact, Otton has scored only 10 times in 57 overall games, averaging 32 receiving yards per game for his career.

In his 10 games this year, Payne Durham has been targeted only twice, with zero receptions. Devin Culp, who averaged 17.6 yards on his five catches last season, has not been targeted at all during his seven games this year. Ko Kieft, a key special teams contributor, was placed on injured reserve in September with a leg injury.

How unusual is this complete lack of end zone production from the tight end position? Glad you asked.

The Bucs are currently the ONLY team in the league without a tight end who has reached paydirt at least once this season.

The only one. And as Three Dog Night once told us, one is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do.

There’s still time to change this depressing narrative … and it needs to change. There have been only two seasons in Buc history that ended without a TD catch from the tight end position.

The first time probably shouldn’t count because the 1977 Bucs remain the lowest-scoring club in NFL history, averaging 7.4 points per game in their second season as a franchise. John McKay’s club threw only three TD passes in 14 games.

That’s a travesty, not a typo.

Cade Otton

The second time came in 1988, Year 2 for Ray Perkins as Tampa Bay’s head coach. Vinny Testaverde threw 35 interceptions for a 5-11 club that averaged a mere 16.3 points. Tight end Ron.Hall caught 39 passes for 555 yards, but never crossed the goal line.

That’s a long time ago. In 1988, Todd Bowles was the starting safety for the defending Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins.

Yes, it’s been awhile.

This lack of tight end production is a major factor in explaining Tampa Bay’s red-zone issues in 2025. The Bucs rank 25th in the league, scoring touchdowns on only 51.7 percent of their trips inside the 20.

In that regard, they’re looking up at the Browns and Jets for heaven’s sake.

What does this mean going forward? It probably means Jason Licht will target the tight end position as a priority heading into the 2026 draft, even if the Bucs re-sign Otton instead of allowing him to test the free-agent market.

Otton has been a decent player, but he’s not a downfield threat and no opposing defensive coordinator mentions him prominently while forging a scheme to stymie Baker Mayfield.

Things could change, starting with Sunday night’s challenging road matchup against the 8-2 Rams. But in a league featuring dynamic young tight ends like Trey McBride, Brock Bowers, Jake Ferguson and Tyler Warren, the Bucs may be treading water at the position.

Tight ends who are effective in the red zone are a pesky problem for defenses. Look no further than Sunday night’s opponent. Tyler Higbee, Terrance Ferguson, Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen have combined to secure eight of Matt Stafford’s 27 TD passes.

Counting the playoff loss to Washington, Otton has now gone 16 consecutive games without reaching the end zone. Sunday evening seems like the right time to end that drought.

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