How Tampa Bay Buccaneers DT Calijah Kancey Made Vita Vea's Job Easier

The 2023 Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first round pick made his veteran leader's life easy with his preparation and impressive growth.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Calijah Kancey (94) pressures Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) on Sunday, December 17, 2023, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Tampa Bay won the game, 34-20. / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK

Defensive tackle Calijah Kancey's career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't get off to the greatest start as health issues cost the 2023 NFL rookie significant preparation and growth time ahead of the regular season.

Making his Buccaneers debut in Week 1, Kancey only played 11 defensive snaps in a 20-17 win over the Minnesota Vikings before re-aggravating the same calf injury, missing the next three games because of it.

The signs of how good the Tampa Bay first-round pick could be were there, though, as he got one quarterback hit in those 11 snaps before having to leave the game. And that was on a questionable calf muscle to begin with, in his first NFL game.

In his return in Week 5 against the Detroit Lions, Kancey played 40 snaps had two more quarterback hits and notched the first sack of his pro football career. Clearly, he was ready to play. And that preparedness is something veteran teammate Vita Vea pointed to in saying the 2023 rookie made his job a lot easier as the leader in the defensive line room.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Calijah Kancey (94) pressures Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) on Sunday, December 17, 2023, at Lambeau Field, Wis. Tampa Bay won the game, 34-20. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK

"When Calijah came in it was surprising how much he knew and how fast he got the playbook," Vea said on the Green Light with Chris Long show. "It was cool to see a rookie come in and to take on — especially the Bucs playbook — and to take on their playbook and understand it and get it down to plays as quick as he did, and I think that was cool seeing him as a rookie.

"For me, it made my job easier as a vet to try to help him guide him throughout the way. Just explaining to him how the NFL works and how to pick up tendencies."

Once Kancey returned against the Lions, he was able to stay healthy enough to play the rest of the season. In his 16 games played, including the postseason, he tallied 6.5 sacks total with 1.5 coming in the playoffs.

Combined with Vea's 5.5 regular season sacks and half a sack in the postseason, the relationship between the two first-round defensive linemen is clearly a mutually beneficial one. The more Kancey proves to be a problem for opposing offensive lines, the less they can focus on Vea primarily.

And if he came into his rookie season impressing a veteran like Vea with his preparation, imagine what he can do with a full offseason and a year of NFL experience under his belt.

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