Eagles Have Chance to Add Buccaneers’ Former $40 Million Playmaker

The Philadelphia Eagles could be an ideal landing spot for a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive playmaker.

As suggested by Glenn Erby of Eagles Wire, Philadelphia should consider adding former Buccaneers tight end Cameron Brate. Erby believes the 31-year-old tight end would be a good fit considering his experience and that he can play in two tight end sets with starting tight end Dallas Goedert.

“Brate has valuable starting experience in the NFL (33 starts in 126 career games),” writes Erby. “He had just 20 catches for 174 yards last season at the age of 31, but provides value in two-tight end sets and good tight end depth.”

Why Eagles Could Consider Cameron Brate

Prior to being released by the Buccaneers this offseason, Brate had spent his entire nine-season career with Tampa Bay. Through 126 career games and 33 starts, Brate posted 273 receptions for 2,857 yards and 33 touchdowns. While Brate is coming off of his worst season outside of his rookie campaign — he posted just 20 receptions for 174 receiving yards and no touchdowns — he has shown playmaking ability in the past, notching 57 receptions for 660 yards and eight touchdowns during the 2016 season.

That performance helped Brate land a six-year, $40.8 million deal with the Buccaneers prior to the start of the 2018 season.

However, injuries — including a concussion and a neck injury — severely limited him last season.

Why Eagles Signing Cameron Brate is Unlikely

The Eagles currently feature seven tight ends on their roster. Five of those tight ends have notable experience, with all of them — with the exception of free agent signing Dan Arnold — having previously played for Philadelphia. Outside of Goedert and Arnold are veterans Tyree Jackson, Jack Stoll and Dallas Calcaterra.

However, most of those tight ends did not impress in pass and run blocking. According to Pro Football Focus, Goedert posted a 57.0 pass-blocking grade and 56.4 run-blocking grade. With the exception of Calcaterra — he posted a 73.3 pass-blocking grade and 61.7 run-blocking grade last season — all of the Eagles’ veteran tight ends posted worse grades.

By comparison, Brate excels in the blocking department. According to PFF, Brate posted a 79.1 pass-blocking grade last season. Among all tight ends with at 30 targets, Brate ranked fourth among all players at the position in pass blocking.

There’s been little chatter regarding any interest in Brate on the free agency market. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if Brate isn’t signed.

The Eagles could certainly take a flier on Brate if they choose to, signing him to a veteran’s minimum deal. However, the fact that Philadelphia already features so many tight ends on the roster — with four of them having played for the Eagles in the past — makes signing Brate an unlikely scenario. Especially when one has to assume that Philadelphia views Arnold — he had just nine catches last season and has just 95 career catches in five seasons– the way they would view Brate.

If one of Philadephia’s veteran tight ends suffer an injury during training camp or the preseason, signing Brate could become a possibility.