TAMPA BAY – The Buccaneers received some discouraging news when Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement earlier in the week.

The announcement leaves a rather large hole on the roster, but fortunately, the Buccaneers have a couple of promising options in Cameron Brate and rookie Cade Otton that can help fill the void.

Beyond them, however, are a lot of questions. There are even questions surrounding both Brate and Otton. Brate is not the same player he was a few years ago and Otton has yet to hit the practice field due to an ankle injury he suffered last year.

So, it may not be a bad idea to add a veteran tight end before training camp begins.

ESPN's Field Yates, along with many others, believes that would be a good idea and recently wrote the following about the need to add a vet:

"I was among the many who believed Rob Gronkowski would return to the Buccaneers for another season, but the 33-year old ultimately has opted for retirement (for now).

The Bucs weren't caught totally blindsided by Gronk's decision, as they used fourth- and sixth-round picks on the tight end position this past draft. But the Bucs need players who can help immediately, and a veteran who can develop an immediate rapport with Tom Brady would be a wise investment. Unless Gronk eventually returns."

The Buccaneers are in a very interesting position when it comes to adding a tight end

Before coming to Tampa Bay, the Bruce Arians offense didn't involve tight ends hardly, at all.

Per Sports Info Solutions, the Cardinals targeted tight ends the second-lowest amount in 2015, ranked 27th in 2016, and 18th in 2017. Things didn't change much when Byron Leftwich took over as offensive coordinator in Week 8. The Cardinals finished 26th in attempts from Weeks 8-17 in 2018.

That changed when Arians and Leftwich came to Tampa Bay in 2019. The Buccaneers finished 11th in attempted passes to tight ends that year. Then, they finished 9th in 2020 and third in 2021 after Gronk came on board.

Arians is no longer around, obviously. And Tom Brady still is, obviously. Brady has always had good tight ends at his disposal, so it's not out of line to think that Brady will want a veteran pass-catcher added to the roster in the near future.

But, the ability to block is also an important trait for a tight end to have in this offense. So, it's not all about what they can do in the passing game. Gronkowski's blocking prowess will likely be missed more than his pass-catching prowess due to the other options the Buccaneers have in the passing game.

There aren't many options in free agency that will move the needle and it's unclear as to which players may be available via trade, but there are options that can come in and at least serve in some sort of rotation.

You can check out Yates' entire column, here.

Featured image via Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports