As Pewter Report suggested on Monday, Bucs rookie defensive tackle Calijah Kancey is expected to miss four weeks with a right calf strain. That would have him missing the entire three-game preseason with a chance to be ready for the season opener on September 10 at Minnesota against the Vikings.

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Adam Schefter Confirms Reports On Calijah Kancey

ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed Pewter Report’s report on Twitter. A tough break for the Bucs, who have been impressed with Kancey’s performance early on in training camp. Kancey had shown a great amount of speed in practice.

His trademark quick get-off on the line of scrimmage had been present in drills. Bucs nose tackle Vita Vea went as far as to say that he’s been surprises all of the group every day.

Bucs DT Logan Hall – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Losing Kancey for several weeks is not what Tampa Bay wanted, especially as a rookie entering the NFL. Defensive tackle has been known to be one of the more difficult positions for players to transition to from the college to professional level.

How The Bucs Will Replace Calijah Kancey For The Next Month

The bright side to all of this is that it means more starting reps for second-year defensive tackle, Logan Hall. Its been an eventful offseason for Hall, who clearly has put on more weight this season while keeping his speed. Hall struggled as a rookie with 2.5 sacks and 12 tackles in a limited amount of playing time, but the effort he’s made sure makes it seem like he’ll be a different player this year.

The Bucs also re-signed defensive tackle Will Gholston before the start of training camp to add some extra depth to the group. Kancey is still going to play a big part for the Bucs this season and in the future, it’ll just have to wait a little bit more.