Buccaneers at Vikings: Week 1 Thursday injury report

Tampa’s first round pick took an encouraging step toward making his NFL debut.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles made clear they weren’t ruling first-round pick Calijah Kancey out of Week 1 despite a calf strain keeping him off the field for the entire preseason.

The electric rookie defensive tackle from Pitt was upgraded to limited participation Thursday, which is positive. While it by no means ensures his presence on Sunday in Minnesota, it does at least signal he has a chance and that he should definitely be back in the rotation soon.

However, news is not as ideal for a rookie counterpart on the other side of the line. Starting right guard Cody Mauch appeared on the report as a DNP due to a back issue. If he can’t push through whatever is bothering him, the line depth will already be tested after getting stretched so much last season. Nick Leverett would likely step in as starter.

Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who was notably absent in an unexcused fashion Wednesday, was spotted back and observing special teams drills during the open media period. As unhappy as he might potentially be with his place on the squad, he’ll need to be patient and prove that he deserves more than what he’s currently being trusted with. That said, his preseason stats didn’t exactly help his case.

Nothing else too notable, as all players on the previous report were participants and seem ready to go.

The Minnesota Vikings injury report is basically nonexistent as they march into Week 1 as healthy as a team could hope. Punter Ryan Wright showed up with an apparent ankle ailment but he was still a full participant.

Here is the full injury report: