Coach Todd Bowles said Tuesday that Vea has dropped weight this offseason in the interest of playing increased snaps, including third downs, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports. Vea is coming off a career 2023 campaign, with a new high of 43 tackles (28 solo), while his 5.5 sacks fell just one short of tying a career-best mark. An ability to pressure opposing quarterbacks provides Vea with more IDP value than the usual defensive tackle, so if he can keep racking up sacks despite dropping weight, the addition of third-down reps could provide a significant boost to the 29-year-old's fantasy prospects.
![Vita Vea](https://heavy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/940x940-crop-2271.png?w=380)
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Status
ACTIVEPrevious game (@ DET 1/21)
Latest Vita Vea news
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Vita Vea Career Stats
Career Stats
Defensive
Year | GP | SOLO | AST | TOTAL | SACK | SACKYDS | INT | DEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | 15 | 28 | 15 | 43 | 6 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
2022 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 7 | 46 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | 16 | 22 | 11 | 33 | 4 | 32 | 0 | 3 |
2020 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 35 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 3 |
2018 | 13 | 21 | 7 | 28 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
![Vita Vea](https://heavy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/940x940-crop-2271.png?w=100)
Vita Vea Game Log 2023
-
defensiveDateOppResultSOLOASTTOTALSACKSACKYDSINTDEFTFL1/7W 9-01010000012/31L 13-233360000012/24W 30-120110000012/17W 34-200220000012/3W 21-181120000011/19L 14-274041100211/12W 20-62021900111/5L 37-394040000110/22L 13-162020000010/15L 6-204260000110/1W 26-9213290019/25L 11-25033000009/17W 27-172131.512.50019/10W 20-1731400001
Regular Season Totals 2815435.531.5008 -
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Vita Vea Player Profile
Career History
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![Vita Vea](https://heavy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/940x940-crop-2271.png?w=100)
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![Vita Vea](https://heavy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/940x940-crop-2271.png?w=100)
Vita Vea Latest News
Drops weight for third downs
![Team logo](https://heavy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/tampa-bay-buccaneers-logo.png?w=150)
Coach Todd Bowles said Tuesday that Vea has dropped weight this offseason in the interest of playing increased snaps, including third downs, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports. Vea is coming off a career 2023 campaign, with a new high of 43 tackles (28 solo), while his 5.5 sacks fell just one short of tying a career-best mark. An ability to pressure opposing quarterbacks provides Vea with more IDP value than the usual defensive tackle, so if he can keep racking up sacks despite dropping weight, the addition of third-down reps could provide a significant boost to the 29-year-old's fantasy prospects.
Will be game-time decision
![Team logo](https://heavy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/tampa-bay-buccaneers-logo.png?w=150)
Vea was questionable in Week 7 with a foot injury, but it's a groin injury that's putting his availability for Week 8 in doubt. If he's sidelined, Greg Gaines could draw the start at nose tackle.