Bucs Embrace Otton, Who Has Best Day After Overcoming Tragedy

The former Husky tight end has had a taxing last month mixing personal and professional responsibilities.

Sometimes life is no different than rush-hour traffic, where everything can get so jammed up and overwhelming.

Cade Otton knows this.

Two days after he made his first NFL catch for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as a rookie tight end playing for a Florida city that has taken an instant liking to him, his mother passed away suddenly on Sept. 20.

Sally Otton, 50, died in Tumwater, Washington, after battling Parkinson's disease for several years. She was a physical-education teacher, a former triathlete and a doting mom.

Pro football took an immediate backseat in the world of the former University of Washington standout and he left the team for a week, traveling from one end of the country to the other to mourn his loss with his family members, who include younger brother Ryan Otton, now a freshman tight end for the Huskies. 

Three weeks later, Otton is back in the hectic flow of the NFL, coming off his finest outing for the Bucs in which he caught six passes for 43 yards in a 21-15 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

Condolences lately have been replaced by compliments, coming even from Tampa Bay's legendary quarterback Tom Brady, who, at 45, is 22 years Otton's senior.

"Yeah, he's doing a good job," said Brady following the Atlanta game. "He works hard in practice. Football means a lot to him. So he's off to a good start in a career. He's a hard-working kid so he shows up every day, tries to do the right thing, he's really prepared. So we all have a lot of confidence in him."

A fourth-round draft pick, Otton received a more prominent role this past weekend after fellow Bucs tight end Cameron Brate went into concussion protocols and had to sit out. 

Otton helped Tampa Bay to a 13-0 halftime lead by coming up with five of his catches. Three of his six receptions resulted in first downs, including two that converted third-down situations. 

"There's a bunch of nuances that go into routes that we run in this offense but at the end of the day you've got to get open and give yourself a chance to get the ball," Otton told reporters. "I try to do that each and every play, give the quarterback a chance to throw it my way. If it doesn't come my way that's fine. I'm just going to keep trying to do my best and keep improving."

Cade Otton had a chance to meet one of the NFL's top tight ends, the Chiefs' Travis Kelce :: Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports

Otton has appeared in four of the Bucs' five games and caught 10 passes for 76 yards as his role has continually increased.

Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles has spoken highly of his first-year tight end's well-rounded efforts.

“I think Cade played well — he blocked well, he caught the ball well, he understands the game,” Bowles told the press corps on Monday. “He’s only going to get better for us. He’s a very big piece of what we’re trying to do, and his role has already expanded. I don’t know if it can get any bigger, but it’s already expanded."

Typical of Otton's contributions, the Bucs faced a third-and-eight in Falcons territory late in the opening quarter and Brady showed enough faith in Otton to send a 12-yard pass to him in heavy traffic over the middle. The drive ended with Tampa Bay converting.a field goal. 

Cade Otton pulls in one of his 6 catches against Atlanta.  :: Matt Pendleton/USA TODAY Sports

The former Husky has dealt with his personal loss to return to his pro football existence and excel. He feels grateful his mom was able to seem him play on TV in his first NFL game against the Dallas Cowboys in an opening-weekend  Sunday Night Football game, and then catch his first pass against the New Orleans Saints the following weekend.  

He's content with his new football surroundings and doing his best to move forward.

"It's a lot of fun to be on the field with a lot of great players, obviously, and just getting a chance to help the team," Otton said. "I'm just trying to do that on each and every play. Hopefully I'll get the chance to do that going forward, but whatever the team asks of me I'm going to try to do."

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