The reaction from Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Ko Kieft said it all.
Blocking on a run play for the Buccaneers in a comeback win over the New York Jets in Week 3, Kieft appears to get his left leg rolled up on and twisted from behind.
Laying on the ground, Kieft slams his fist into the ground. He must have known then what everyone else found out today.
“Bucs are putting tight end Ko Kieft on injured reserve with a leg injury, a key loss on special teams,” Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman wrote on his official X account on September 23. “They make official the promotion of DL C.J. Brewer to the 53 and the signings of DL Desmond Watson and TE Caden Prieskorn to the practice squad.”
Tampa Bay Times reporter Rick Stroud broke news it would likely be worse for Kieft, 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, than just missing a month’s worth of games.
“I’m told Kieft’s season is most likely over,” Stroud wrote on his official X account. “Nothing official yet.”
Losing Kieft is the latest in a series of body blows suffered by the Buccaneers on their offensive front. Starting guard Cody Mauch is out for the season with a knee injury and $90 million starting right tackle Luke Goedeke is on injured reserve after hurting his foot.
Kieft Carves Out Career As Key Role Player
Kieft was a sixth round pick (No. 218 overall) by the Buccaneers in the 2022 NFL draft out of the University of Minnesota and has carved out the most unique of NFL careers — a tight end who doesn’t catch the ball hardly at all but has incredible value to his team.
Before his injury, Kieft had played in 53 out of 54 possible regular season games with 19 starts and just 8 receptions for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns.
While his offensive usage has been around 20 percent of Tampa Bay’s offensive snaps each of his first 3 seasons — almost exclusively in goal line and short yardage sets — he’s been a special teams stalwart and on the field for roughly 70 percent of Tampa Bay’s special teams snaps throughout his career.
“Ko Kieft has been a very good special teams player and stout blocker since 2022,” Buccaneers fan Dijon Mustard wrote on their X account,. “To make matters worse, with him and Mauch out for the season, we are out of crazy red headed players for the first time since 2017. This season’s injury bug can get (expletive). Heal up, Ko!”
Buccaneers Add SEC Standout To Practice Squad
Prieskorn, 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, was an All-Conference pick at 2 different colleges. He was an All-AAC pick at Memphis in 2022 with 48 receptions for 602 yards and 7 touchdowns then earned All-SEC honors with Ole Miss in 2023 with 30 receptions for 449 yards and 4 touchdowns in just 10 games.
In the 2023 Peach Bowl, Prieskorn was named Offensive MVP with 10 reception for 136 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 38-25 win over Penn State.
Prieskorn, who also spent time with the Denver Broncos after going undrafted, finished his college career with 112 receptions for 1,531 yards and 14 touchdowns and played in 52 career games.