Bucs rookie DT Kancey carted off with calf strain

TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-round draft pick Calijah Kancey was carted off the field Sunday morning with a calf strain and will undergo an MRI. Kancey suffered the injury to his right leg during training camp practice.

“He’ll get an MRI and we’ll see where it’s at,” coach Todd Bowles said after practice.

Kancey, a former Pittsburgh defensive tackle who has drawn comparisons to fellow Pitt alum Aaron Donald, was turning the corner on a drill when he pulled up his right leg. He hopped forward, putting no weight on the leg. He then let out an, “Ah, f—!” as he grabbed his lower leg toward his calf. He was helped to his feet and then onto a cart.

The Bucs’ coaching staff, front office and teammates were thrilled with the work Kancey had done this offseason during rookie minicamp and mandatory minicamp, and it was already showing up in training camp, with him getting into the backfield multiple times during the first four days of practices.

“He’s adapting to the scheme mentally, and then he was adding his physical part to it,” Bowles said Sunday. “He’s putting it together quicker than normal rookies do. So hopefully it’s not that bad and he can get back.”

“The number of ‘wow’ plays that he had in shorts was more than I was even expecting,” general manager Jason Licht said at the start of camp. “That doesn’t necessarily always translate to making a bunch of plays in the NFL his rookie season — I’m not saying that he’s going to for sure be an All-Pro his first year or anything like that. But seeing this defense kind of mold into what Todd [Bowles] really does like in that explosive, penetrating front that can get pressure up the middle, as well as off the edge, with all the tools that we have with Devin [White] and Lavonte [David], it’s going to be exciting, that’s for sure.”

Kancey is expected to start right away, with the Bucs hoping his quickness — he ran a 4.67 40 time at the NFL combine and notched 14.5 sacks and 27.5 tackles for a loss over his last two seasons at Pitt — can complement the size of 346-pound Vita Vea.

Running back Rachaad White said he has been impressed by Kancey’s early work.

“He is a different rookie, man. He is so composed. He is a good dude, a great guy,” White said. “You can see his poise, just a guy who wants to work. He does not really say too many words every time I see him, and you can tell he is kind of to himself. Out on the field, you can see that he is explosive, quick and he got in the backfield today. It just makes you understand that you have to look out for a guy like that.”

Kancey wasn’t the only player to suffer a calf injury in the opening week of camp. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was carted off the field Thursday with a right calf strain, an injury that Bengals coach Zac Taylor said will sideline him for several weeks. Dallas Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson suffered a right calf strain as well during Wednesday’s practice, and a source told ESPN he could miss four to six weeks.

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