Who Should I Start? Kyle Rudolph or Cade Otton

Monday, September 4, 11:06 AM

Two-time Pro Bowl tight end Kyle Rudolph announced on Monday that he will officially retire as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. Rudolph makes the decision after playing 12 seasons in the NFL. Originally a second-round pick of the Vikings in 2011 out of Notre Dame, Rudolph played the first 10 seasons of his career in Minnesota before joining the New York Giants in 2021 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year. He'll finish with 482 career receptions on 709 targets for 4,773 yards and 50 touchdowns in 165 games (145 starts). In just nine games (zero starts) for Tampa in 2022, the 33-year-old had three catches for 28 yards and one touchdown. Both of his Pro Bowl campaigns came in Minnesota -- in 2012 and in 2017.

Saturday, October 18, 9:09 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton has picked up the slack over the last few weeks. Otton was awful to start the season, but finished with 81 receiving yards in Week 5 and hauled in five receptions for 51 yards last week. The Bucs are starting to believe in Otton and he's beginning to earn a larger role. It's also worth noting that the Bucs are extremely banged up right now. They're already without two starting wideouts, but Mike Evans (hamstring) and Emeka Egbuka (hamstring) might sit in Week 7 as well. If that happens, Otton could see an expanded role on Monday night. At worst, Otton should be a solid TE2 given his recent success.