By Bailey Adams,PewterReport.com

Copyright yardbarker

There was certainly a fear late Monday night that this could be the reality for Tampa Bay, as head coach Todd Bowles told the media that Kancey was in a sling and that there was potential for his injury to be a serious one.

“It has a chance to be serious,” Bowles said. “We’ve got to get some X-rays. He’s in a sling right now. I’ve got to see what the final result is.”

As it turned out, the final result wasn’t a good one for the Bucs and Kancey.

Where Calijah Kancey’s Injury Leaves Him And The Bucs

It’s a brutal blow for both Calijah Kancey and the Buccaneers defense. Kancey came into the 2025 season feeling like the injury issues were fully behind him after a calf issue cost him the early parts of both his rookie season in 2023 and his second season in 2024. In fact, the 2023 first-round pick said over the summer that he felt like a full year of health could result in him leading the league in sacks. Unfortunately, this won’t be the year we find out.

As for the Buccaneers defense, they simply don’t have a one-for-one replacement to make up for Kancey’s absence. He was set to be a major part of the Tampa Bay defensive line and a key cog in the four-man pass rush. He had yet to record a sack in the first game and a half, but he did record a tackle for loss in Monday night’s game before exiting with the injury.