Calijah Kancey Applauds Moves For More Violence

April 21st, 2026

Recently, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht admitted he wanted to add violent players to his defense. Joe applauds this for two reasons.

The first, refreshingly, this is an admission that the Bucs defense last year was soft. Fans all knew this but it was refreshing to hear the general manager go there. No team openly craves to add violent players if the defense isn’t already soft.

The second reason Joe likes these moves is the atitude might spread.

Last year this Bucs defense quit on Bucs coach Todd Bowles, let’s call it like we see it. Joe doesn’t want to hear anyone refer to anyone on that defense last year as a “leader” because if there was a leader or two on that defense, dudes wouldn’t have quit without first getting a fist in the nuts from a true leader.

Dudes who have a mean streak aren’t likely to quit, or put up with quitters without enacting some sort of penance.

The Bucs added A’Shawn Robinson and Alex Anzalone to help make the defense more ornery. And Calijah Kancey loves it.

Yesterday at One Buc Palace, Kancey admitted he was frustrated. He wanted to go out there and help his defense bus was stuck on the sideline on injured reserve.

“I think that’s awesome,” Kancey said about becoming a mean machine on defense. “To add guys like [Anzalone and Robinson] on the defense that have already been doing their job [helps].

“To add those pieces to the defense, I think it’s great. … It … gets us to where we need to [be].”

Joe has a hunch Robinson won’t tolerate dudes quitting like we saw last year. Anzalone won’t put up with it, either.

Maybe with a couple of guys added in the draft that don’t exactly live up to “I Am That Man” priestly behavior, is what this defense needs to become adequate again.

46 Responses to “Calijah Kancey Applauds Moves For More Violence”

  1. ChiBuc Says:

    CK, company man saying what Licht wants to hear (applause for Licht) just before his big payday. Then, once he’s paid, back to IR and another 9 game season (average as a pro). He’s on the JL payroll expess (a la, Dean, AWJ, Goedeke, and soon Morrison…honorable mention to Zyon).

  2. Bojim Says:

    Get em Kancey!

  3. Lt. Dan Says:

    “…dudes wouldn’t have quit without first getting a fist in the nuts from a true leader.” I love LVD and I think he tried to be this kind of leader but it just isn’t his personality. He struck me as more of a “watch how hard I play and then I expect you to do the same” kinda leader. I’m gonna miss him though.

  4. OLDSCHOOL1976 Says:

    What did you think he would say? He cannot publicly throw teammates under the bus. I would like to see us draft McDonald and move Kancey around the line some (when he is available)

  5. BigD Says:

    Kancey will be applauding from the bench, hurt. He doesn’t have the build to hold up against nfl linemen. They need to try something different with him to take advantage of his speed. He came to Pitt at 250. I’d have him drop 20 lbs and try him at olb. As it is now, I wouldn’t take the 5th year option on him. Not sure what to do with him. They need to be creative if they want to keep him on the field.

  6. Ha-Ha-Ha Says:

    Ha ha ha ha.
    This is a finesse defense relying on trickery and tomfoolery in order to make up for deficient scheme and personnel.
    Is there anybody on this defense who can pin their ears back and go after the quarterback?
    Do they collapse the offensive line and force teams away from the run?
    Does this defensive scheme hold up just playing base defense? Or does it rely on trickery and movement to provide any consistent pressure or play making.
    Will this scheme work with right players? Maybe. What we know is for the last 5 years is the team has not found the right players nor did the coach find the right scheme for the players on the team.

  7. Ha-Ha-Ha Says:

    And drafting a tight end will not change the those facts.

  8. DungyDance Says:

    “Dudes who have a mean streak aren’t likely to quit, or put up with quitters without enacting some sort of penance.”

    Was there never an occasion last year when it was appropriate to bench someone for quitting? Evidently the defensive coordinator does not have that “mean streak.”

  9. Usedtocould Says:

    I’m excited for the draft. Hopefully Licht does the smart thing and trade Bowles to the gas station for a can of zins.

  10. 813bucboi Says:

    CK94 needs to play 1st and 2nd down on the outside across from yaya…

    3rd down, kick him inside and bring in AQM…

    1st & 2nd down: CK94, VITA, A.Robinson, YaYa

    3rd down: AQM, VITA, CK94, YaYa

    im confident we could create some havoc with that rotation

    GO BUCS!!!!!

  11. ‘74 Bucs Fan Says:

    No matter the question to Kancey, his response should be “I need to stay on the field”.

    I also would like to see Kancey, when on the field, kicked out to the edge.

  12. football 1 Says:

    I just want a defense that swarms to the ball, tackles people for a quick loss or gain, knocks the ball out of the offensive guys hands, and actually covers the receiver. I don’t care what the attitude is I just want a defense that plays, well like a real defense. I am not interested in words, but playing. The Bucs have not had any of that for a few years now, if the above is called violence ok, I simply call it playing real football.

  13. Defense Rules Says:

    813bucboi … I could easily go with formations like that, although I’d rather have 1 more DT in there … Kayden McDonald … with Vea smack dab in the middle between Robinson & McDonald.

    Also agree with BigD though that it’d be worth an experiment to have Kancey drop 20-30 lbs, move outside, and see if that helps him stay healthier AND perform better. He’s not even close to being an Aaron Donald clone; same size for the most part, but Donald was so much stronger it’s ridiculous, and a LOT less injury-prone.

    Donald only missed 9 games in his entire 10-year career, most of those in 2022 (ankle injury), and averaged roughly 850 def snaps per season. In his 10 yrs, he ended up with 111 sacks, 260 QB hits, 176 TFLs, 24 FFs and yes, 21 PDs (oh the horror of it all). THAT’s a beast.

    But that’s NOT Calijah Kancey in his first 3 years. Bucs have until May 1st to pick up his 5th-yr option, but I doubt they will. If he has a spectacular year, we can always franchise tag him if needed.

  14. Lakeland Says:

    Who will be the offense leaders?

    They quit on Grizz last season
    They averaged a pathetic 16.8 points a game
    During the last 7 games, when we needed them the most

  15. Warren Brooks Lynch Says:

    Quitting is a pretty strong allegation to just throw around, especially with the vague way it’s mentioned in this article and not necessarily tied to a single example.

    Guess it’s more of the “it was all the defense” when people talk about what went wrong with this team, yet our season ended in a game we won by 2 points and only allowed 14.

  16. 813bucboi Says:

    Lakeland Says:
    April 21st, 2026 at 9:19 am
    Who will be the offense leaders?

    they’ll bring back JPP to add “juice” to the offense lol

    GO BUCS!!!!!

  17. 813bucboi Says:

    CK94 just needs to be used more as a chess piece rather than being entrenched on the inside…

    I think the aaron donald comparison is more about quickness and versatility as an IDL…Rams(under mcvay) moved AD around…Under Fisher AD was entrenched on the inside

    move him around..create mismatches…take advantage of his quickness by using more stunts…

    IMO, asking him to drop weight would kinda signal that you’re giving up on him…

    I would like to see Braswell at LB…tell him to drop 10-15 pounds and try to convert him into an LB much like Zack Baun…i think that could work…he needs a fresh start at something lol

    GO BUCS!!!!!

  18. #1bucsfan Says:

    I deff don’t beleive the defense quit but they deff couldn’t get to the QB nor could they cover the middle of the field the flats hell they couldn’t cover any of the football field lol. Change getting after the QB and that alone helps with coverage. Alex will do a better job covering the flats and sometimes in the middle gain way better than SVD. I’m with several of yall in kicking kancey outside. I think it will really help get after the QB and help keep him healthier. I like kancey and when he’s healthy this defense does play better but that’s the key is being on the field which kancey hasn’t bin a whole lot of.

  19. 3.28.Evans Says:

    Nothing will change until the gaping singularity from which not even Licht can escape, is running donut franchises for a living after he’s finally canned.

  20. MelvinJunior Says:

    I think Mr. CK should just worry a lot more with HIMSELF, and trying to stay ON the field.

  21. bakerfan Says:

    Character problem across the board. They quit, took the money and quit (Winfield, that’s right I said it Winfield quit)McCollum, Reddick all Linebackers beside David…

    Let me put it this way YaYa, Parrish, Tkyee, David and Vita were the only ones that did not quit and all the others should have to compete to stay on the team.

    Chicken rots from the head down so it lands on Bowles and Licht.

  22. Bucsfan951 Says:

    Bucs need “I am that man” on offense (minus the o-line) and absolute dogs for defense and o-line.

    I’m talking I want psychopaths on defense and o-line.

  23. MelvinJunior Says:

    The defense was not horrible for most of the season, if not for a very ‘clumsy’ SVD, an aging LVD, and a totally LOST McCollum, giving up so many HUGE MONSTER plays over the middle. I mean, they weren’t even CLOSE. Just Horrendous. They could’ve held their own and been competitive, if not for that. It just became soooo obvious where to attack them and how to beat them. I think they’ll clean up a lot of that for this season. It’s the OFFENSE is what I’m most worried about.

  24. Sal Volatile Says:

    The training staff and coaches need to work with Kancey and develop new techniques for him to utilize. His first two injuries were calf muscles. He’s short by comparison to the O linemen so maybe he’s stretching them too much trying to lift up. His pectoral injury may have been caused by a striking blow. Perhaps some better chest pads would help. He needs some bigger pads overall in my opinion. Throw style, appearance and vanity out the window.

  25. Sal Volatile Says:

    I think Kancey would be a better fit in a 4-3 defense.

  26. MelvinJunior Says:

    Defense Rules Says: “813bucboi … I could easily go with formations like that, although I’d rather have 1 more DT in there … Kayden McDonald … with Vea smack dab in the middle between Robinson & McDonald.”

    I 💯 agree with this. We wouldn’t have much to be worried about right now, had JL been smart and done the obvious, by drafting BIG BAD ASS Deone Walker. It would actually be THE STRENGTH of the team. And, extremely exciting to see. Damn. Makes me sick. You could’ve played them BOTH (had CK been available), all over and up and down the line, and WITH one season still left to go with Vea. They would be DOMINANT. Can’t block Deone with just 1.

  27. Lakeland Says:

    The Bucs offensive unit as a whole was awful last season

    Not just statically awful, but they actually stunk the field
    The Bucs had a high percentage of their salary cap invested on the offense

    Baker Mayfield
    Mike Evans
    Chris Godwin
    Tristan Wirfs
    Luke Goedeke

    These 5 players took a huge chunk of our payroll
    But we received poor returns on our investment
    Because they stunk the field last season (when they was on the field)
    You can argue (They wasn’t as bad as the defense)
    But from a financial view (They were a lot worse than the defense)

    Bottom Line
    Their production to salary ratio was terrible

  28. LynchMob50 Says:

    It took 4 years of Bowles Swiss cheese pass defense to come to this conclusion?

    If the GM is a Guru, then why haven’t his players blossomed under Todd?

    Perhaps it’s a combination of zero pro bowl players drafted since 2020, AND the defensive stylings of TB Zero.

    If only I was blind and lobotomized I could go along with this philosophy.

  29. Lakeland Says:

    The problem with the Bucs

    They tend to spend big on the offense.
    Then they patch up the defense with low paid players
    And expect for them to perform at All- Pro level
    The players are UDFA, late round draft picks

    Or they try to find a basement bargain like Hassan Reddick

  30. JimBobBuc Says:

    Draft a CB early and trade away McCollum. I just rewatched the Buffalo game where McCollum was repeatedly torched. He can be bored somewhere else.

  31. Jimmy Says:

    >>> Then they patch up the defense with low paid players <<<

    It's almost like the Bucs don't trust their defensive coordinator.

  32. Steve V. Says: Says:

    Lake,how many were injured on that list last season??

  33. Lakeland Says:

    It don’t matter if they were injured or not
    It was a poor investment, based on their availability, production
    That’s just how it goes in the NFL

    Don’t point fingers at the defense, or the OC

    Point the fingers where at the real culprits
    The ones that didn’t perform according to their salary

  34. Kenton Smith Says:

    Lakeland. Let’s see. Vea isn’t making any money? How about Winfield? Lavonte? Surely McCollum is not being paid very much. No way did Reddick make a pile of money. Right? And you named 5 players on offense. One of those players was top 10 in his profession in passing yards and top 7 in his profession in TD passes. Oh yeah. He ran for the most yards per carry of anyone in the league in his profession. Might not have been Baker’s best year. One of these years Mayfield will have a team that doesn’t suck out loud. I’m hoping it’s with Tampa. I’m sure, until then, he’ll keep showing up and doing the best he can- with what he’s got. The offense was wiped out with injuries and finished 18th in the league in points. The defense was mostly healthy and gave up 20th points against. The offense needs to stay healthy. The defense needs a reason to live.

  35. Kenton Smith Says:

    Lakeland. Just out of curiosity. Trask? Or Winston? You were a fan of one or both of them, weren’t you? Is it Mayfield’s fault that the two of them sucked? I’ll answer for you. NO.

  36. Lakeland Says:

    Once upon a time, many moons ago

    I bought Enron stock at $85 a share
    Six months later Enron was bankrupt
    And their stock was selling for pennies on the dollar

    That’s exactly what the Glazers received last season
    Pennies on the dollar from their big money investment on players

  37. Steve V. Says: Says:

    They were fine at 6-2 best team in football ,they fell off the wagon when the injuries occurred sorry i disagree

  38. Kenton Smith Says:

    Lakeland. Baker threw for more touchdowns than Darnold last year. Baker threw less interceptions than Darnold last year. Baker beat Darnolds a$$ head to head last year. They came into the league together in 2018. Baker has almost twice as many touchdowns and passing yards in those 8 years. No comparison in their scrambling ability. The Seattle Seahawks had the best defense in the league last season. Baker earned every penny he made last year. You should follow Trask. Don’t know where you might find him. Maybe you could find Winston- start in the crab leg section at your nearest grocery store.

  39. jimmy Says:

    bucs new gaslight is violence. ooo look at us we so violent!! violence is us, us is violence. lets all get violent.

    what nonsense.

  40. 813bucboi Says:

    LOL….LAWD folks love stats over WINS!!!!…lol..

    who has more wins in the past 2 years?

    who has won 14+ games in 1 season with 2 different teams?

    pipe down!!!!….baker needs to practice on his footwork and Heimlich maneuver to stop himself from choking!!!!

    GO BUCS!!!!!

  41. Kenton Smith Says:

    813bucboi. I’m saying Darnold wouldn’t have won 8 games with this squad. Tom Brady went 8-9 with the Bucs in 2022. Oh, his offensive line was injured. You mean like ours was injured last year?

  42. Kenton Smith Says:

    Darnold had the best defense in the league in 2025 with the Seahawks. In 2024, Darnold was hamstrung by the Vikings defense, which was ranked 5th in points allowed, at 19.5. Although they were 3rd in total defensive efficiency. 813bucboi. You are beginning to sound like a whiny little you know what every time you discuss Baker Mayfield.

  43. Jmarkbuc Says:

    DungyDance

    Yup. Problem is with the so called leader of the entire team.

  44. 813bucboi Says:

    Kenton

    IMO, Darold would’ve won 10 games with our team….he wouldn’t have choked in DEC

    GO BUCS

  45. HC Grover Says:

    Perfect Photo.

  46. 3.28.Evans Says:

    There is no longer any doubt. Lots of lead in the water in Lakeland.