Calijah Kancey’s Status
September 14th, 2023
Update.
So Calijah Kancey’s NFL debut wasn’t as flashy as Trey Palmer’s or even Christian Izien. But the Bucs rookie defensive tackle made an impression on Joe.
Dang is this guy fast!
Kancey was hurt very early in Bucs training camp with a non-contact calf injury during position drills. He was sidelined until last week and gave it a go Sunday in Minnesota.
Kancey logged 11 plays and on two he sure got Joe’s attention. Kirk Cousins’ attention, too.
The Bucs had Kancey line up wide left almost like a linebacker in the first quarter. He then looped in on a stunt and the Bucs defensive line created a nice lane for him; Cousins damn near gave up a pair of ribs as Kancey blasted him.
After 11 snaps, Kancey said his calf injury was barking. So the Bucs played it safe and pulled Kancey for the day.
Todd Bowles was asked about Kancey yesterday and it seems nothing is seriously wrong.
“No update,” Bowles said. “He’s not any worse than he was – he’s actually a little better.
“We’ll take it day by day with him. He just said he felt [the calf was] a little tight, so we kept him out.”
Bowles added that Kancey has also had an MRI to play it on the safe side and the results were “good.”
Kancey did not practice yesterday, per the Bucs’ Wednesday injury report. And he hasn’t been ruled out for Sunday’s home-opener against the Bears.
Joe could tell on Sunday that this guy is going to be a handful. After 11 plays he left the game with hit, a knockdown and a quarterback pressure.
