Torn pectoral muscle sidelines Buccaneers' Calijah Kancey

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on Sep 16, 2025

Published in Football

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TAMPA, Fla. — A 20-19 victory on "Monday Night Football" came at a high cost for the Bucs.

Defensive lineman Calijah Kancey is expected to miss the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle that will require surgery, the Tampa Bay Times has confirmed.

It is not immediately clear when Kancey sustained the injury. But on his final play in the second quarter, his left arm appeared to be hanging loosely while he struggled to rush Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud while facing offensive tackle Tytus Howard.

All three of Kancey’s seasons in the NFL have been interrupted by injuries. As a rookie, he suffered a calf injury in training camp and missed most of the season’s first four games. He also missed the first five games of last season with a calf injury, but finished strong with 7 1/2 sacks in the final 12 contests.

Former Ram Greg Gaines and 2025 fifth-round pick Elijah Roberts likely will get most of the snaps in Kancey’s place.

If he fails to return this year, Kancey, who was the team’s first-round pick in 2023, will have missed 45% of Tampa Bay’s games the past three seasons.

Head coach Todd Bowles said Tuesday morning that the team was still awaiting an MRI on tackle Luke Goedeke, who missed practice most of last week and left Monday night’s game in the first quarter with a foot injury.

No takeaways, no problem

Here is one of the more inexplicable statistics you will find:

Including the playoff loss to Washington last season, the Bucs defense has failed to force a turnover in six consecutive games.

And somehow, they’ve gone 4-2.

How unusual is that? When a team did not get a takeaway in 2024 they went 49-118, which is a winning percentage of .293. The Bucs, on the other hand, have a .667 winning percentage without a takeaway in their last six games.

“We’re showing a lot of grit and resiliency right now,” Bowles said Tuesday. “We haven’t had the killer instinct yet, but we’re working toward that.”

The Bucs dropped numerous passes that could have gone for interceptions against Atlanta in the opening week, but there was only one that caught the coach’s eye on Monday night.

“The only one that killed me (was) Lavonte (David’s) because (they) pretty much handed it to him,” Bowles said. “That kind of hurt my heart a little bit. He’ll hear about it all week.”

Bowles said he did not need to lean on the analytics from Director of Football Research Zach Beistline when it came to going for it on fourth and 10 with a 1:24 remaining and the ball on the Bucs’ own 32 against the Texans.

“There was really no choice. Zach had no say-so in that one,” Bowle said. “He chimes in quite a bit when it comes to what’s safe and what’s not, and he gives me the numbers of everything. We go over that. It’s good to have that in the back of your head as you call plays.

“It’s good for (offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard) to hear, it’s good for me to hear, as well. He didn’t have much say on the last one, but fourth and 1s are pretty much no-brainers. It’s the fourth-and- 2s to 5s that we talk about — where we are, what the percentages are.”

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