May be unfair to compare J.J. Watt’s injury to Calijah Kancey.
Multiple outlets and multiple insiders, led by Jordan Schultz, reported yesterday that Bucs defensive tackle Calijah Kancey is done of the year.
Kancey suffered a torn pec in the Bucs’ win over the Steers Monday night in Houston. He is scheduled to have surgery on Friday.
But there is a former NFL team doctor who claims there is still a sliver of hope Kancey could return late in the season.
Again, Joe has to preface the following: The physician in question, former 17-year San Diego Chargers team physician Dr. David Chao, has not seen Kancey’s MRI results or X-rays, has no medical information shared between the Bucs, doctors and Kancey, has never interviewed or had Kancey in for a consultation.
The only thing Chao is going by is TV analysis, scant details publicly released by the Bucs and/or Kancey’s agent, and Chao’s personal history dealing with these types of injuries. Every person and every injury is its own story.
But Chao says based on history, the door is not yet closed on Kancey’s 2025 season.
Joe sees where Chao is coming from here. J.J. Watt returned in three months. That may be because Watt was a total workout animal and he may have been in much better shape than Kancey at the time of the injury.
That is not a knock on Kancey at all. Watt was very much like Tom Brady in that Watt was a maniac for nutrition and fitness. Joe wouldn’t at all be surprised if Watt said he ate avocado ice cream when he played. He was psychotic that way about his conditioning.
Joe is pretty confident that Watt being able to bounce back in three months had something to do with his intense, disciplined, bordering on maniacal approach to fitness and nutrition.
Reports now confirm surgery but season not definitely over. Remember, @JJWatt returned to play for @HoustonTexans in playoffs in 3 months after surgery. https://t.co/lHK3MO08bd
— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) September 16, 2025