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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers elevated to 2-0 in last-second fashion. Baker Mayfield capped a game-winning drive with under 10 seconds left to beat Houston 20-19. But star defender Calijah Kancey endured a setback after beating the Texans.
Kancey left early with a pectoral injury. The defensive tackle noticeably couldn’t complete his hand rush move when engaged with his blocker.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles dropped an update on the trench star, via insider Greg Auman for Fox Sports.
“Bowles says Calijah Kancey is in a sling but they won’t know severity until they get x-rays back in Tampa,” Auman posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Sounds like Kancey’s 2025 is already becoming murky.
Kancey rose up as one of the top pass rushers on the Buccaneers defensive line.
The 6-foot, 280-pounder compiled 7.5 sacks in 2023. He also delivered four the previous season. He formed a stout duo with Super Bowl winner Vita Vea inside.
But he’s having trouble staying healthy.
Kancey got limited to only one start in 2024, as he missed most of last season with a calf injury.
Tampa is so much better defensively with his presence along the line of scrimmage. He’s compiled 54 total tackles with 41 solo stops and has delivered 21 career tackles behind the line of scrimmage — with all TFLs coming his first two seasons.
Kancey finished with only one stop, which still occurred behind the line. Vea led the interior defensive line charge with two tackles in the absence of Kancey.
The Bucs still surrendered only 266 total yards of offense against Houston plus limited the Texans to just 12 first downs. The AFC South champs also only produced 84 yards on the ground. Houston only tallied 22:51 in time of possession inside NRG Stadium.
The Bucs have now started 2-0 for the fourth straight season. They’ve won the division each time they started out fast.
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