Former NFL Team Doctor Thinks Calijah Kancey Needs Surgery
September 15th, 2025
Former NFL doctor weighs in.
Now Joe has to preface what this physician has to say about Bucs tackle Calijah Kancey.
The man making this educated, though fully unofficial guess has no direct information on Kancey. He has no X-rays, no test results, no MRI data, has not interviewed Kancey or evaluated him. This man is just going by what he saw on TV.
The Bucs’ third-year defensive tackle and beastly pass rusher left the game with Houston with what was determined to be a pec injury. No further details were provided.
Bucs coach Todd Bowles stated on the Buccaneers Radio Network after the game that he didn’t want to speak on Kancey’s injury (or Luke Goedeke’s injured foot) because the Bucs were going to have Kancey undergo tests.
But Dr. David Chao, the former 17-year lead physician of the San Diego Chargers, thinks Kancey is going to be out a while because his eyeball diagnosis is that Kancey will need surgery.
Chao believes if Kancey does undergo the knife, he will be out until at least December or maybe he won’t be available until the playoffs. Either way, if Kancey has surgery, he’s going to miss months, Chao said.
For a little background, in 2011 defensive tackle Gerald McCoy suffered a torn pec in the first week of November, Week 9, and was lost for the year.
Calijah Kancey Bucs
Tears pec on this play
Not the next/final one shown on TV
Surgery & small chance for late or playoff return if TB alive pic.twitter.com/YRILh6x3UT
— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) September 16, 2025