Let’s put the spotlight on Bucs defensive lineman Calijah Kancey.

With the 2024 season firmly in the rearview mirror and the pre-draft process, free agency, the draft itself, OTAs and mini-camp also behind us, it’s time to ramp up the excitement for training camp and then, of course, the Bucs’ 50th season. As we did last summer, we’ll spend the weeks leading up to training camp focusing on some storylines and narratives surrounding some of Tampa Bay’s biggest stars in 2025.

So far, we’ve worked our way through storylines for nine players on offense: quarterback Baker Mayfield, running backs Bucky Irving and Rachaad White, wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan, tight end Cade Otton and offensive tackles Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke.

Now, we move over to the defensive side of the ball as our series continues, starting with third-year defensive lineman Calijah Kancey.

Can Calijah Kancey Start (And Finish) The 2025 Season Healthy?

All things considered, the first two seasons of Calijah Kancey’s NFL career have been promising. He racked up four sacks, 12 quarterback hits and 10 tackles for loss in 14 games (all starts) as a rookie in 2023, then led the Bucs with 7.5 sacks in 2024. He also upped his quarterback hits to 17 and tallied 11 tackles for loss over 12 games (all starts).

If there’s one main issue to nitpick with the start of Kancey’s time in Tampa Bay, it’s been the number of games he’s missed. He has played in (and started) 26 out of a possible 34 games since being drafted in the first round of the 2023 Draft.

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey – Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It was a tough start for Kancey as a rookie in 2023, as he suffered a calf injury on the fourth day of training camp. That cost him all of camp and his first NFL preseason, and while he did make it back for Week 1 and flashed with two pressures early on in the game, he would leave his debut after only 11 snaps.

From there, he missed Weeks 2-4 before returning in Week 6. While he had a solid rookie campaign, the missed time in camp and the preseason put him behind the proverbial eight ball and forced him to learn on the fly.

Kancey looked much improved by the time his 2023 rookie season came to an end, and he looked primed for a huge year two in 2024. But while he did eventually have an impressive year two with a team-high 7.5 sacks, he once again got a late start due to a calf injury. This time, it was his other calf that he injured in the final practice before the Bucs’ season opener. He missed the first five games of the season as a result before returning in Week 6.

So, the first question for Kancey is whether he can start the 2025 season on time. The belief is that those calf issues are well behind him, and the Bucs will certainly hope the 24-year-old gets a full camp and preseason in before managing to play a full season opener for the first time in his career. And of course, they’ll hope to have him not just for those early-season games but for the duration of the season. Because a fully healthy Calijah Kancey for a full season has star potential.

When he’s been on the field over the last two years, Kancey has looked like the type of player Tampa Bay thought it was getting when it took a chance on him with the No. 19 pick in the 2023 Draft. The trick will be keeping him healthy and ensuring the Buccaneers defense has one of its most disruptive forces for a full 17 games (as well as the playoffs).

What’s The Ceiling For A Fully Healthy Calijah Kancey?

While there’s a certain element of “if” to the idea of Calijah Kancey staying healthy, the prospect of him doing so for a full season is exciting. Because if he can get to a team-leading 7.5 sacks in 12 games, what could he have in store over a full 17 games?

Purely from a numbers standpoint, he clearly has double-digit sack potential. Reaching 7.5 sacks in 12 games says as much, doesn’t it? If Kancey can get to double-digit sacks in 2025, he’d be the first interior lineman to reach 10+ sacks since Warren Sapp did it in 2000. Not only that, but he’d become only the third Buccaneers interior defender ever to hit double-digit sacks in a single season, joining elite company in Sapp (who did it in 1997, 1999, 2000) and Santana Dotson (1992).

If Kancey reaches that potential in 2025, that could mean his first Pro Bowl selection. It could even mean All-Pro consideration. But the former Pitt Panther has his expectations set higher.

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey and Saints QB Spencer Rattler – Photo by: USA Today

Kancey was asked earlier this summer what was possible if he can stay healthy for a full 17 games in 2025, and he didn’t hold back in his answer, showing full confidence in the high expectations he has himself.

“I think you’d be looking at the sack leader if [I] suit up for all 17 games,” he said.

But wait, he already led the Bucs in sacks last year, right? Was he talking about leading Tampa Bay in sacks or the entire NFL?

“In the league,” Kancey said.

Another former Pitt Panther, future NFL Hall of Famer Aaron Donald, was the last interior lineman to lead the NFL in sacks, doing so with 20.5 in 2018. So, what does head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles think about Kancey’s claim that he could lead the league in sacks if he stays healthy?

“I think he can get close. I think he can get awfully close,” Bowles said in an appearance on the Pewter Report Podcast earlier this summer. “If he’s healthy for 17 games, the way he’s learned the game… Calijah’s not just a quick player, he’s a very smart player. And he’s very strong. He understands how people are trying to attack him.

“He understands what he can attack and when to attack it. Being in the scheme now for two years, he has a better grasp of everything. He does some great things, and a lot of times, the ball is out. So if the chips fall right, yes, I think he can get there.”

The sky is truly the limit for a healthy Calijah Kancey, and the Bucs hope they’ll see that come to fruition in 2025.

How Can 2025 Become A True Breakout Year For Calijah Kancey?

Calijah Kancey only seems to be getting better by the year, so what will it take for him to truly take that next step up to an elite, widely recognized level in 2025? Health is the big key, as we’ve discussed. But there’s more to it, of course, and one of the other elements that could aid Kancey as he looks to take the next step is the help he has around him. It should be better than ever in 2025.

Playing next to two-time Pro Bowler Vita Vea is a huge help for Kancey, especially considering the complementary skill sets the two interior defenders possess. On the outside, Yaya Diaby made big strides last year, and expectations are high for him in 2025. The addition of veteran Haason Reddick to play on the other side is also expected to give the pass rush a big boost this year.

And while Reddick’s presence can help Diaby, those two outside guys – along with the seemingly improved depth on the outside – playing at a higher level could create more opportunities for Kancey and Vea on the inside. Kancey and Vea will continue to create sack opportunities for the outside rushers, too.

Bucs DTs Calijah Kancey and Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Kancey will have more help when it comes to pass rushing talent around him, and he already finished 2024 on a superstar-like trajectory. After the Bucs’ bye week, Kancey was one of the best interior rushers in the league, tying for fourth in pressures (23), third in sacks (three) and 19th in win rate (11.0%).

Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo’s projections have the third-year pro falling just short of the 10-sack mark, as he projects 24 hurries, 12 hits, 45 total pressures and nine sacks. But it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see Kancey exceed expectations in 2025. There’s no reason he should fall short of double-digit sacks, and that could see him enter the conversation for being one of the best young interior linemen in the game.

As of now, PFF doesn’t even have him ranked among the top 32 interior defensive linemen in the league. That’s likely due to the criticisms of his run defending. A step forward in that area of his game could go a long way in 2025, but this is something Queipo wrote earlier this month that deserves revisiting:

“The rap on Kancey is that for as good of a pass rusher he is, he also struggles to hold up against the run. That rap is a false flag of sorts. Let’s be clear. It’s not his calling card and it will never be a strength when considered on a consistent basis. But he holds up just well enough on a snap-to-snap basis to stay in the lineup on early downs. And he leverages those traits that make him a strong pass rusher to pop with high-end plays on a semi-regular basis.”

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey and Raiders C Jackson Powers-Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

So it’s not as if No. 94 is a complete negative against the run. He has 21 tackles for loss in two seasons thus far, so he has some playmaking ability to his run-stopping game, especially playing as a complement to Vea.

However, even the slightest improvement in run defense paired with an ability to keep piling up those TFLs will help Kancey’s reputation throughout the league. Playing the run may never be a strength of his as Queipo said, but being a key cog in the Buccaneer defense’s run stopping prowess combined with a double-digit-sack year could mean Pro Bowl honors and a new level of notoriety nationally for the young lineman.