Here's how Rob Gronkowski's role will change on Buccaneers with O.J. Howard out for the season

Bruce Arians doesn't plan on adding any more food on Gronk's plate

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have plenty of depth at tight end, which makes the season-ending injury to O.J. Howard not as severe on the outside looking in. Still, with Howard missing the remainder of the year, the Buccaneers will need to rely on Cameron Brate and Rob Gronkowski to make up for Howard's impact in the passing game. 

Why not go to the tight end that has the most yards and receiving touchdowns for any player at his position through 104 career games? Gronkowski may be in line for a bigger role as a pass catcher in the offense, but Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians likes the role the future Hall of Fame tight end has now.

"No, it won't change. He'll get pretty much the same number of snaps," Arians said. "We'll do some things with Cam [Brate], too. The ball will go [to] whoever's open, but as far as the number of snaps, he'll probably stay the same."

Gronkowski has played 82% of the offensive snaps this season, so it's harder to increase playing time for him. Brate, on the other hand, will certainly factor more into the game plan going forward. He's played just 32 snaps on the season, taking on increased usage for a team that lines up in "12 personnel" 28% of the time -- fourth-most in the NFL (per Sharp Football Stats).

"I think Cam's a pro's pro. He's always ready [and] we know what he can do," Arians said. "We had him last year [and] we know what his strengths are, so we can build around that. Tom [Brady] has great trust in him – we all do – and he's a better blocker than people give him credit for. We'll do what he does best, and he'll be a big part of the game plan." 

Brate has just one catch for three yards on the season, but that catch was for a touchdown Sunday. Gronkowski has just nine catches on the year, recording 88 yards without a touchdown. The way Tampa Bay features the tight ends in its offense -- especially since Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Scotty Miller, and Justin Watson are battling injuries -- Brate's number is expected to be called on a short week. 

"That's kind of just the nature of the beast," Brate said. "I was kind of just biding my time there for a little bit, so I'm feeling very fresh. Heading into the short week, I feel like I kind of have the leg up on everyone else. I haven't been playing too much, but as a football player, you obviously want to play. You feel like you're contributing, right? I kind of had to take the back seat there for the first few weeks. I was still preparing as if I was going to be playing every play, taking all the mental reps and everything like that, and [I was] still getting the work in practice. 

"I feel like from a preparation standpoint I'm ready to go and excited about the opportunity, not just for me, but for other guys to step up too."