Buccaneers urged to bench veteran offensive player

Bleacher Report is calling for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to bench a veteran player on their offense.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are off to a sluggish start on the offensive side of the ball. The offense in past years has been extremely explosive the past couple of seasons, including last season when they averaged 30.1 ppg - which was good for second in the NFL. However, this season it has taken a ginormous step back to begin the season averaging just 17.0 ppg - which ranks them near the bottom of the NFL at 22nd.

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Much of the reasoning behind this can be placed on the offense losing valuable playmakers such as Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Julio Jones, Cade Otton and Kyle Rudolph for a number of different reasons including injury, personal matters, and suspensions. With Tom Brady at the helm, it is hard to make excuses, but even if the Bucs were to have some of these weapons back, there is one piece they are missing - Rob Gronkowski.

Gronk was a lethal pass-catching tight end while also maintaining his job as a blocker. Up to this point, Tampa Bay's tight ends have yet to be able to replicate anything similar to what Gronk was able to provide. This is why Bleacher Reports' Alex Ballentine is urging the team to bench veteran tight end Cameron Brate for either rookie Cade Otton or Kyle Rudolph.

According to Ballentine,

"Usually, it's games like these where Brady would have relied heavily on Rob Gronkowski. He tried to do the same with Cameron Brate, who was second on the team in targets with six. But Brate hasn't proven to be that kind of weapon for the quarterback. He has just 11 targets on the season, catching seven for 68 yards. Whether it's rookie Cade Otton when he returns or Kyle Rudolph working his way onto the active roster, the Bucs need a more dynamic pass-catching tight end to make this offense dangerous."

Ballentine points to Brate's targets and receptions and how that has translated to his production so far this season and it is quite underwhelming. If we could see the emergence of Otton or Rudolph, Brate could find himself at the bottom of the depth chart as the Bucs look to add a more dynamic piece to their offense.

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