Tag: vita vea

Bucs have several starters on Week 3’s injury report

The Bucs are in jeopardy of being without multiple starters once again this week against the Broncos.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are gearing up for their Week 3 matchup against the Denver Broncos, but there’s a chance they could be without a few key starters.

The Bucs communications team released their injury report following Wednesday’s practice, with prominent players either not participating or limited. The Bucs’ secondary injuries began in Week 1 and are still an issue. Starting cornerback Jamel Dean was limited with a knee injury, while safety Antoine Winfield Jr did not practice with his lingering foot injury, which he suffered late in their victory over the Washington Commanders.

Vita Vea was ruled out last week with a knee injury, and it’s not looking good once again, as he didn’t practice either. Sticking with the defensive line, Calijah Kancey missed the first two games with a calf injury, and he still hasn’t been able to participate in practice.

Moving over to the offense, starting tackle Luke Goedeke didn’t participate in practice due to a concussion, and Rachaad White was limited with a groin injury. If White can’t go or is limited to a snap count on Sunday, there’s a possibility rookie Bucky Irving could be in line for a heavy workload.

Jason Kelce cites ‘guys like Vita Vea’ as reason for retirement

If anyone knows a thing or two about blocking defenders, it’s one of the greatest centers in league history.

When run stuffing, it doesn’t get much better than Tampa Bay Buccaneers NT Vita Vea. Since being drafted in the 2018 NFL Draft, Vea has logged 115 run stops, per PFF- and more often than not, the recipient of a double team from opposing offensive lines.

On a recent episode of the Ryen Russillo Podcast, former long-time Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce spoke about his likely ability to still execute the Eagles infamous “tush push” play and his retirement, stating that his “knees no longer want to block guys like [Vita] Vea.” If anyone knows a thing or two about blocking defenders, it’s one of the greatest centers in league history.

To be singled out by Kelce, who has lined up against the best-of-the-best in his 13-year career as someone he does not want to block, has to be a rewarding feeling, especially as Vea attempts to bounce back from the sprained MCL he suffered during Sunday’s win over the Detroit Lions.

The stalwart of the Buccaneers’ defensive line is not only one of the vocal leaders but arguably the team’s most electrifying personality on the field, which provides a distinguishable difference when he is on the field. Vea’s return will be welcomed as the Buccaneers host the 31st-ranked rushing offense of the Denver Broncos on Sunday in the first of a two-game homestand.

Bucs DL Vita Vea diagnosed with an MCL Sprain after win against Lions

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had a rough go of it in terms of injury-related news, but they may have finally caught a break. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had a rough go regarding injury-related news, but they may have finally caught a break. The Bucs defensive lineman didn’t finish the game against the Lions on Sunday.

He left early due to a knee injury, and we finally have an official diagnosis.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that Vea is dealing with a sprained MCL in his knee. No time was expected for his absence other than that he is believed to be day-to-day with the injury.

Vea is still expected to undergo an MRI on Monday to confirm the injury isn’t anything more serious.

He joins a beaten-up Buccaneers defensive line that is already missing starter Calijah Kancey and captain and leader of the secondary Antoine Winfield Jr. If they are going to be missing Vea on top of those two losses, then Todd Bowles’ job just got that much more difficult.

INJURY UPDATE: Vita Vea ruled OUT with knee injury

The Bucs lose their best defensive lineman during their Week 2 matchup with the Detroit Lions.

The Buccaneers’ injury troubles on the defensive line continue, losing a key player in their matchup with the Detroit Lions. Defensive tackle Vita Vea has been ruled out for the rest of the game with a knee injury.

The lose of Vea now means the Bucs are without three starting defensive lineman. They came into the game short-handed with injuries to Logan Hall and Calijah Kancey both missing the game against the Lions and the Commanders last week.

The Bucs came into Week 2 missing the players mentioned above and had to elevate Mike Greene and CJ Brewer from the practice squad. Tampa Bay was also without All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who could miss multiple games with an ankle injury.

We are expected to hear the significance of the injury sometime later on Sunday, early Monday. We will have an update as soon as the team provides one to the public.

Bucs sail past Dolphins 24-14

The Buccaneers handily defeat the Miami Dolphins in their 2024 preseason finale.

The Buccaneers end the 2024 preseason on a high note, routing the Miami Dolphins 24-14. Tampa Bay’s starters played just one drive, but from the top to the bottom of the depth chart, the Bucs kept total control of the game and gave themselves some momentum heading into the regular season.

The Bucs opened the game with their starting offense on the field, marching down the field and facing just one third down. The biggest play of the drive came off a 28-yard bomb from Baker Mayfield to rookie wide receiver Jalen McMillan:

McMillan’s catch set up a four-yard Rachaad White touchdown, giving the Bucs a 7-0 lead that they would not give up for the rest of the game.

Tampa Bay’s defensive starters similarly saw limited action, holding Miami’s offense to a three-and-out on its first drive. On third and one, Vita Vea demolished Dolphins center Jack Driscoll, setting up a tackle for a loss by Vi Jones and K.J. Britt:

Though the Bucs gave their starters a taste of real action, most of Miami’s Week 1 roster was not dressed to play. By the middle of the first quarter, there was not a first-string player on the field for either team.

The Bucs and Dolphins traded punts for most of what remained of the first quarter until Miami failed to convert a fourth down at the Tampa Bay 43-yard line just before the start of the second quarter. The Bucs picked up a few yards for a 50-yard field goal attempt that Chase McLoughlin successfully converted. It was just his second successful field goal of the preseason.

On the following Dolphins drive, the Bucs appeared to score a defensive touchdown off an Earnest Brown sack-fumble recovered by linebacker Antoine Grier Jr. However, on replay the call was overturned as an incomplete pass.

Evidently unsatisfied with points taken off the board, Tampa Bay’s offense put together a 47-yard touchdown drive that included a fourth-down conversion pass from Kyle Trask to undrafted rookie WR Kameron Johnson. The Bucs scored a few plays later when Trask found WR Ryan Miller in the corner of the endzone on a 10-yard pass.

The Dolphins responded in kind on the following drive. Driving 70 yards down the field, QB Skylar Thompson and the Miami offense found its first points off a 20-yard touchdown reception by TE Hayden Rucci. The first half ended with the Bucs up 17-7.

In the second half, the Dolphins continued their efforts to get back into the game, putting together a 76-yard touchdown drive that got them within three points of Tampa Bay. The Bucs quickly stamped out any hopes of a Miami comeback by scoring on the next drive, with Trask finding TE Tanner Knue in the endzone on fourth and goal:

Neither team would score for the rest of the game. Tampa Bay all but ended the game when Antonio Grier Jr. intercepted a Skylar Thompson pass with just under three minutes left in the game:

With the win over Miami, the Bucs end the 2024 preseason with a 2-1 record. After Baker Mayfield lone drive, Kyle Trask led the Bucs offense, completing 17 of 24 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Bucky Irving led the Bucs with 26 yards rushing for a 4.3 yard per attempt average.

The Dolphins actually outgained the Bucs offensively 320 yards to 290. However, Miami committed eight penalties to Tampa Bay’s five and allowed a sack and an interception while collecting none of their own.

The Bucs are now on the straightaway to their season opener against the Washington Commanders. While the preseason only provided a glimmer of what the Bucs will look like in the regular season, what they did show in this preseason finale appeared not far removed from where they left off in last year’s playoffs.

WATCH: Top plays from Vita Vea’s career with the Bucs so far

Check out the best highlights from Vita Vea’s career so far with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After trading down five spots in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers spent the No. 12 overall pick on Washington defensive lineman Vita Vea, adding a massive mauler to their defensive front.

Vea has proven himself to be one of the most dominant interior defenders in the league throughout his career in Tampa Bay so far, earning a massive contract extension a few years ago, and becoming a respected leader for the Bucs defense.

As we prepare for the upcoming 2024 NFL season, check out some of the best highlights from Vea’s career in Tampa Bay up to this point.

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Bucs 2024 training camp preview: Defensive line

Buccaneers defensive linemen Calijah Kancey and Logan Hall face very different expectations heading into training camp.

The Buccaneers’ efforts to reload their defensive line over the last few years have been met with mixed results. Their top picks from their previous two drafts, Calijah Kancey and Logan Hall, appear to be on tracks heading in opposite directions. This year’s training camp will be a chance for Kancey to grow from a promising rookie season while Hall is potentially facing a last chance to prove he is not a bust.

Kancey got off to a rough start last year, suffering a calf injury that robbed him of most of camp and the preseason as well as lingering through the first quarter of the regular season. When he did return, Kancey challenged the rest of the rookie tackle class to be the most disruptive pass rusher in the group, recording four sacks and 45 total pressures.

The biggest goal for Kancey in this year’s camp is to just stay healthy. After finishing the season with his best two performances coming in the playoffs, Kancey could be primed for a leap into the broader discussion of the top interior pass rushers in the NFL.

There will be expectations for Kancey to also make improvements in run support, an area where consistency was an issue last year. While he led all rookie defensive linemen with 10 tackles for a loss, he was often getting pushed around in the trenches, a consequence of his lighter frame.

Logan Hall faces a much different scenario. After he was taken with the Bucs’ first pick in the 2022 draft at the top of the second round, Hall has done little to prove worthy of his draft position. In two seasons, Hall has just 35 total pressures including three sacks while also proving to be a liability in run defense himself.

Hall’s improvement from his rookie season to last year was marginal, and it was clear that Kancey, even with his slow start, was a more effective and disruptive player than Hall. This year’s camp could be Hall’s last opportunity to prove he is deserving of significant snaps in Tampa Bay’s defensive line rotation.

It does not matter if Hall makes a leap as a pass rusher or run defender. A marked improvement at either would extend his future in Tampa Bay.

Vita Vea returns to Bucs training camp facing his own questions about his own future. Though he played the most snaps since 2019, Vea is rapidly approaching an age when many lineman lose their explosiveness. He apparently anticipated this and has shed some weight this offseason working out with former Bucs DT Ndamukong Suh.

A lighter, faster Vea could have a wide range of effects, from a more potent pass rush to a less stout run defense. It will be hard to tell until the regular season.

The Bucs brought back veteran DT Greg Gaines, who was an adequate rotational player last season. Also returning is the Bucs’ second-longest tenured player, Will Gholston. Both are all but assured to make the final roster.

Tampa Bay ordinarily carry six defensive linemen during the season so there is one last spot up for grabs. Third-year DL Mike Greene is in pole position as he is the only remaining lineman with actual NFL experience. However, Greene’s roster spot is not assured as his performance last year was less than memorable, recording just four pressures while missing 28.6% of his tackles.

Greene’s competition is comprised of fellow undrafted prospects who, like Greene, have spent nearly all of their time in the NFL on a practice squad. The lone rookie in the bunch is Judge Culpepper, son of former Bucs DT Brad Culpepper. Despite his pedigree, Culpepper is a long-shot to make the final roster and is more likely destined for the practice squad.

Vita Vea’s unbelievable food poisoning story from Super Bowl LV

Vita Vea tells an incredible (and colorful) story about playing Super Bowl LV while sick with food poisoning

Super Bowl LV will always be an incredible memory for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but while the victory was a blast for the entire organization, at least one player wasn’t feeling so well that Super Sunday.

Appearing on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast, Bucs defensive lineman Vita Vea recounted an incredible story to guest host (and former Bucs teammate) Beau Allen.

While it was a dominant night for a Bucs defense that held Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs without a single touchdown, Vea was struggling with food poisoning after working his way back from a broken leg in Week 5 to get back on the field and help Tampa Bay win a championship.

It’s quite a colorful memory for Vea, so viewer discretion is advised (video contains profanity):

Well, that’s a new one.

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Bucs DL Vita Vea named NFL’s best No. 12 overall pick of the last decade

This ranking of the top pick from every first-round slot in the NFL draft from the past 10 years featured one Tampa Bay Buccaneer

At this point in the offseason, it’s a good time to look back at recent events in the NFL and take stock of where the league’s at in a bunch of different ways.

One such venture from our good friends at Draft Wire was to rank the best player selected at each of the 32 slots in the first round of the NFL draft from the past decade, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers landed themselves one of those spots.

Defensive lineman Vita Vea was picked as the best No. 12 overall pick from the last 10 years, the Bucs’ pick back in the 2018 NFL draft.

A massive mauler who dominated at Washington, Vea landed in Tampa Bay after the Bucs traded back from the No. 7 spot with the Buffalo Bills, who moved up for quarterback Josh Allen.

Things have worked out pretty well for both sides, as Allen has become one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the game, while Vea has established himself as one of the league’s most dominant interior defenders.

To check out the full list at Draft Wire, click here.

Where does Vita Vea rank among the NFL’s top interior defenders?

See where Pro Football Focus has Vita Vea ranked among the NFL’s best interior defensive linemen heading into the 2024 season

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have one of the NFL’s best nose tackles in Vita Vea, but how does he rank among the league’s best interior defenders according to Pro Football Focus?

PFF’s recent list puts Vea at No. 21, and here’s their explanation for why he’s not higher:

Vea would have arguably the best highlight reel of any defensive tackle in the NFL. His wins can be absolutely absurd. At 350 pounds, he has the power to ragdoll 300-pound offensive linemen and the explosiveness to take advantage of it. He just doesn’t make that impact as consistently as he should.

Last season, he totaled 39 quarterback pressures and 30 defensive stops to go along with an 80.0 PFF overall grade. All are good marks, but none correspond to the physical dominance he can display at times.

While it’s true that Vea might not be as consistently dominant as you might expect him to be considering his rare combination of size and athleticism, it still feels like there’s not a strong case to be made that 20 other interior defensive lineman in the league are better than him right now.

Offseason reports suggest that Vea has shed some weight as he prepares for the 2024 season, so we might get the best version of him we’ve seen in a long time this year.

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