Buccaneers DL Makes Bold Prediction About His 2025 Performance
Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Calijah Kancey says if he's healthy, he'll lead the NFL in sacks this season.
A 2023 first-round pick of the Buccaneers, Kancey exploded onto the scene in November 2023 with an NFC Defensive Player of the Month award that saw him post two sacks, four QB hits, and 10 tackles. Kancey battled a nagging calf injury into the 2024 season but had another stellar campaign with 7.5 sacks in just 12 games played, including 6.5 in the final nine. In a
Kancey began the exchange by talking about his exit interview with head coach Todd Bowles after the season. 'It was more so of me making sure that I'm ready, come beginning of the season, not missing those five games [like] I did the first two seasons,' he said. 'Really, just making sure I'm doing everything to not miss those games, but also to continue to dominate at a high level.'
Kancey has dealt with calf injuries in both his NFL seasons so far. He dealt with one going into his rookie campaign, which he aggravated in his NFL debut in Week 1 of the
He missed the first five games of the
In the press conference, Kancey indicated that he suffered injuries to each calf muscle. 'Honestly, I think I got both of them out the way now,' he joked.
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A reporter then asked what would happen if he were able to suit up for a full season in 2025. 'I think you'll be looking at the sack leader,' Kancey said.
'In Tampa Bay or the league?' the reporter followed up.
'In the league,' Kancey said.
In the same press conference, linebacker Yaya Diaby said he planned to compete for that title. 'Hey, I want him to win as much as he [wants] me to win but that's just something we're going to have to fight for,' Diaby said. 'But it's going to be fun.'
Kancey had praise for his 2023 Draft classmate. 'Yaya is going to have a crazy season,' he said. 'We don't stop talking about it ... We always talk about how we want to go out there and dominate ... just looking at the work that's been put in this offseason, [it's] definitely rolling on the right path.'
The Bucs have had a recent NFL sack leader: outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett led the league in 2019 with 19.5 sacks. And last year's sack leader was Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson, with 17.5 sacks. But Kancey and Diaby will both have to compete with free agent acquisition Haason Reddick, who posted double-digit sack counts in four of the last five seasons.
Regardless of individual accolades, Kancey wants the defense to elevate their performance.
'We definitely want to raise the bar here every day,' he said. 'We all want to hold each other to a higher standard and bring more to the table. I mean, it's year three for me, I'm sure the coaches, my teammates, they all want to see more from me as much as I want to see more from myself. So that's just how it is around here. We all bring each other up, and we also want to be as good as our offense is as well.'
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