Kancey missed all or part of nine games to start 2023-24, but still led the Bucs in sacks last season.
Bucs defensive tackles Vita Vea, left, and Calijah Kancey may actually start a season together for the first time in three years.
Bucs defensive tackles Vita Vea, left, and Calijah Kancey may actually start a season together for the first time in three years.
TAMPA — Vita Vea walked to the practice field Friday playfully using his helmet to shield his face from cameras. He had missed two days nursing a foot injury, but appeared to be striding toward starting Sunday’s season opener at Atlanta.
“He had a good practice. It’s looking promising,” head coach Todd Bowles said. “He’s trending the right way.”
If so, Vea and defensive tackle Calijah Kancey both could be healthy and able to begin the season together for the first time in three seasons.
Kancey played only a few snaps as a rookie in the opener at Minnesota before aggravating a calf injury that forced him to miss the next three games in 2023.
Similarly, last year he injured his calf and missed the first five games. Even so, Kancey led the Bucs with 7.5 sacks.
“It would be great for him to start the season and not miss any time,” Bowles said. “The past two years, I think he missed (about) five games apiece. He came back and he played. We monitor that every day. Obviously, he’s handling that and feeling great right now, so as time goes forward, we’ve just got to make sure we continue to monitor the things he does and how he gets warmed up and everything else.”
The combination of Vea’s sheer power and surprising athleticism, coupled with Kancey’s speed and technique, should create problems for the Falcons and opposing offensive lines.
Kancey has boldly predicted he expects to lead the NFL in sacks if he is able to play 17 games.
“I expect big things from him; he has shown a lot,” Vea said. “Especially from (organized team activities) to minicamp to now, he has shown a lot of upsides in how he is playing, and how much he has learned in the past couple of years. I am excited to see what he does this year, and I expect nothing but big things from him.”
A year ago, Vea spent several weeks in Portland working out with former teammate Ndamukong Suh. The result was 7.0 sacks and 47 pressures, ranking seventh among defensive tackles and most in a single season in his career.
What impact has Vea had on the defense since becoming a full-time starter in 2019? The Bucs rank first against the run (93.8 yards per game), first in opponent rushing average (4.0) and third in opponent rushing touchdowns (68).
And the arrival of Haason Reddick and improvement of Yaya Diaby may give the Bucs a front four that will need no help from blitzes to pressure the quarterback.
But make no mistake, the strength of the Bucs defense will be determined by how many games Vea and Kancey can play together.
New OC opts for field view
![Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, here with quarterback Baker Mayfield, left, will be manning the sideline this season.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 620 413"/%3E)
Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, here with quarterback Baker Mayfield, left, will be manning the sideline this season.
New Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard has never called plays at any level. He spent 2.5 games in the preseason on the Bucs sideline and the first half of the final preseason game against Buffalo upstairs in a coaches’ box.
Grizzard, who has been the eye in the sky in the past as the Bucs’ third-down specialist, opted for a new vantage point. He said he prefers to be on the sideline on game day.
“You get instant feedback on how the play goes and who’s going into the game on the next play, which is huge,” Grizzard said. “The communication with B-Mac (receivers coach Bryan McClendon), or (tight ends coach Justin) Peelle or (running backs coach) Skip Peete on ‘This guy is out’ to adjust the next play call based on who’s in there.
“Then, the real-time fixes, if something didn’t go well, those guys are right beside you so you can get the correction done. As well as the communication with coach Todd Bowles. He was huge, especially in situation football. What we’re thinking, hearing it upstairs, communicating that out, I thought it was very good.”
Grizzard believes he received enough work during “call it” periods in practice against Bowles in the preseason to sharpen his skills.
“It helped immensely,” Grizzard said. “It helped in practice being able to do it and then carry that over to the game and do it live. Being able to see it for two games — I guess two and a half games — and then just going from there. It helped with the staff continuity, getting all of us on the same page … seeing the ball move down the field, adjusting to situations, who’s in the game — it helped a ton.”
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