Bucs Gameday

Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles Provides an Update on First Round Pick

As Week 1 is getting closer the Buccaneers are hopeful that they will have their 2023 1st Round Pick available.

Ben Meyerson

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At Wednesday's practice Buccaneers' rookie defensive tackle Calijah Kancey was still not a participant and his status for Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings is up in the air.

Todd Bowles said after practice, "He has a chance to play, we're not ruling him out."

Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht said that he is trending the right way.

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“Extremely excited. He is trending in the right direction still. We still want to make sure we don’t put a player out there, especially with that kind of skill set and with that type of injury, too early. He is trending the right way. [I’m] very, very excited.” 

Kancey was injured in the second week of training camp, it was a non-contact injury during a drill, you can see exactly where he got injured here:

Kancey was selected with the 19th overall pick by the Buccaneers in April, in his final two seasons at Pitt he recorded 14.5 sacks and 27.5 tackles over 23 games.

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Kancey was the second defensive tackle selected in the 2023 NFL Draft after Jalen Cater. He was highly touted for his pass-rushing ability and elite athleticism with a 4.67-second 40-yard dash and 1.64-second 10-yard split at the NFL combine.

The Buccaneers' final practice before traveling to Minnesota is on Friday and if Kancey is still not practicing by then it is unlikely that he will play on Sunday.

Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout Training Camp.

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Ben Meyerson
BEN MEYERSON

Writer for BucsGameday.com