The Tampa Bay Buccaneers pre-emptively ruled out several key players on Friday due to injuries, most notably rookie defensive tackle Calijah Kancey — their first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft. That’s good news for the New Orleans Saints, whose offensive line will have their hands full with established starters like Vita Vea, Shaquil Barrett, and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka.
But it’s sounding like the Bucs will be shorthanded in the secondary. Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles also ruled out rookie cornerback Derek Pitts and backup linebacker SirVocea Dennis, saying that starting cornerback Jamel Dean will “probably” miss the game as well. Their other veteran starter at corner, Carlton Davis, is going to be a game-day decision.
Still, that’s hardly reassuring after the Saints failed to take care of business against a Green Bay Packers team missing four starters on offense and their best defender a week ago — especially in light of that same Packers team getting molly whopped by the Detroit Lions on Thursday night. New Orleans has yet to prove they’re a legit playoffs contender. If they can’t put a bad, beaten-up Bucs team away they’ll have to start worrying about even winning their own division.
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