New Bucs edge rusher Haason Reddick.
When the Bucs release their epic 50th-anniversary documentary later this year, which will be a first-class Hollywood production, there’s a good chance one Bucs story will make the cut.
Generations ago, Tampa Bay’s Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp, a bleed Bucs player, had a bit of a feud with receiver Keyshawn Johnson.
Johnson wanted to play in Tampa and Sapp had recruited Johnson. The two went deep on the subject at a Pro Bowl and in April of 2000, the Bucs traded two first-round picks to the Jets to get Johnson. That’s right, two first-round picks.
Then Johnson arrived and did not attend voluntary Bucs spring practices in Tampa, which infuriated Sapp.
Sapp believed that was critical team time and Johnson needed to be there, especially after Sapp vouched for him. Yeah, they won a Super Bowl together, but their sniping at each other has continued through the media over the years.
Enter the 2025 Bucs. They signed free agent edge rusher Haason Reddick in March and Reddick had little interest in the Bucs’ offseason program.
Publicly, team officials and players have said it was no big deal. But one player may have a different line of thinking, and he happens to play Sapp’s position.
Calijah Kancey was asked on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Thursday to explain how his defense looks like such a cohesive unit in practice.
“Yeah, man, that’s just something we established inOTAs, offseason,” Kancey began passionately.
“A lot of guys spent their offseason here at the facility, and then OTAs, like you got your starting offense and defense here at OTAs. The heart of the team [was here];that’s how you build. That’s how you bond. A lot of guys think you can miss OTAs and then come in mini-camp for three days, and then go away and then come back to camp, and then you got the team bond. But we do that in OTAs. The whole team is here. Everybody’s bonding, gelling together, getting to know each other. And that’s how we play together. That’s how you play stronger. That’s how you become a better team, just being able to trust the guy next to you.”
Kancey never named Reddick, but Joe sure found that rant from Kancey interesting, especially considering how Kancey is a cornerstone Buccaneers and a likely future face-of-the-franchise kind of player