The Buccaneers are an NFL-high $56MM over the cap, and they have less than two weeks to become compliant with the league’s $224.8MM salary ceiling. Cuts and restructures are coming. One of them will involve one of the team’s longest-tenured players, Sam Robinson of Pro Football Rumors reports.

Tampa Bay plans to release Cameron Brate, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN tweets. The veteran tight end has been with the team since 2014, having stuck around this long despite being a UDFA. The Bucs will save just more than $2MM through this cut.

This comes after Brate suffered a scary injury midway through last season. A sprained neck led to Brate being stretchered off the field in Pittsburgh, leading to a three-game absence. Brate, who had been bumped down in Tampa Bay’s pecking order during Rob Gronkowski‘s time with the team, returned but did not make much of a statistical impact. He finished the year with 20 receptions for 174 yards and no touchdowns.

Brate, 31, has been with the Bucs since before their Jameis Winston draft investment. The Harvard alum’s 2,857 career receiving yards rank second among tight ends in team history, behind only Jimmie Giles‘ 4,300. Brate’s total tops every Bucs tight end since Giles’ tenure, which ended in 1986. Although 6-foot-5 pass catcher has played a complementary role behind Mike Evans (and often others) throughout his Tampa tenure, he has been a valuable player for the team.

The Bucs gave Brate a rare six-year contract back in 2018, with the deal being worth $40.8MM. This came after he served as a key Winston target, 1,251 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns from 2016-17. The Bucs’ O.J. Howard first-round pick in 2018 changed Brate’s role; he never topped 350 receiving yards again.

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