Former Pitt Star Calijah Kancey Hoping to Return for Tampa Bay
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are fighting for their playoff lives against the Carolina Panthers.
With 2 games left in the NFL regular season, Tampa Bay trails Carolina by 1 game in the NFL South. However, these 2 teams will play in the final game of the regular season, that could decide who wins the division.
Carolina finishes the season with games against Seattle and at Tampa Bay, while Tampa ends with a trip to Miami and with the Panthers.
If Tampa Bay is able to advance to the playoffs, they could receive a huge boost with the possible return of one of their best defensive players.
Former Pitt star defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, who’s been on injured reserve since September 17th, began his 21-day practice window on Wednesday.
While there’s nothing definitive on this, the hope is that if Tampa makes the playoffs and wins a game, Kancey might be healthy enough to return. The combination of Kancey and Vita Vea is one of the best duos in the NFL.
The Buccaneers drafted Kancey in the 1st round of the 2023 draft and when he’s been on the field, Kancey has proven to be one of the most talented interior defensive tackles in the NFL. The problem is that he’s been sidelined by injuries, this season being a pectoral injury.
In 28 career games, Kancey has 55 tackles, including 22 for a loss, 11.5 sacks and 29 quarterback hits.
Last season, despite missing 5 games with a calf injury, Kancey led the Bucs with 7.5 sacks.
In his final season with Pitt in 2022, Kancey was named a unanimous All-American as he finished the season with 31 tackles, 7.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss, which led the nation for interior defenders.
