Can O.J. Howard meet expectations in final eight weeks?

Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports O.J. Howard entered his third season as an NFL tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers facing high expectations. Despite back-to-back eleven loss seasons for his team, and an uncertain future for his quarterback, the story around Howard was about his emergence as one of the best tight ends in the league.

History be damned, Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwich had never seen a tight end of Howard’s caliber before, and never had the pleasure of incorporating one into their shared and individual offensive schemes.

If Winston was going to be successful, Howard was going to be part of it. He believed it himself. In May, Howard said this during an appearance on Good…