Buccaneers Get Great News On Scary Cameron Brate Injury

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans were given a huge scare when tight end Cameron Brate exited Sunday's 20-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers with a neck injury. Brate dealt with a concussion two weeks ago, so the fact that he was carted out of the game and taken to a Pittsburgh hospital has fans and teammates worried.

Fortunately, it looks like the veteran pass-catcher avoided the worst. ESPN's Jenna Laine reports that Brate's X-rays came back negative for any sort of neck fracture. More tests will give a better idea of what a return timetable could look like, but the latest update is great news, nonetheless.

Cameron Brate Injury Update

Brate's injury occurred in the third quarter after being tackled by Steelers linebacker Myles Jack. The referees immediately called for a pause in the game when it was clear that something was wrong. Players from both sides took a knee before the 31-year-old was carted out of the game.

Brate has been a constant presence and fan favorite in Tampa ever since he joined the Bucs as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He's played 120 games over that nine-year spanning, hauling in 266 catches for 2,797 receiving yards and 33 touchdowns.

Fortunately, the Buccaneers have solid TE depth behind Brate. Kyle Rudolph has 158 games of NFL experience under his belt, posting a 480-4,757-49 stat line in his own career. Cade Otton has racked up 12 catches for 99 yards in his first five games in the league, while fellow rookie TE Ko Kieft is also available, however, he's more of a blocking tight end.

Hopefully, Brate isn't sidelined for too long. The Buccaneers might have several TEs at their disposal, but none are as talented as the former Harvard product.

For now, it remains to be seen if Brate can heal quick enough to help the Buccaneers rebound when they visit the Carolina Panthers for Week 7 action on Sunday.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.