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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be getting a big boost for the remainder of the playoffs if all goes as planned after the team designated starting defensive tackle Vita Vea to return. Vea has not played since breaking his leg against the Bears back on October 8.
“The Bucs designated defensive tackle Vita Vea for return from injured reserve with the expectation that one of the league’s best run stoppers will be available for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Packers,” Tampa Bay Time’s Rick Stroud detailed.
Stroud indicated there is an “expectation” that Vea will be able to play against the Packers in the NFC Championship, but his official status will be unknown until closer to game day. The Bucs defensive tackle has been preparing for a deep Tampa Bay playoff run with the hope that he could return to the field.
“Vea has been undergoing strenuous workouts in hopes that the Bucs would still be playing games in late January,” Stroud added.
Pro Football Focus Described Vea as Emerging as ‘One of the NFL’s Best at the Position’
Heading into the 2020 season, Pro Football Focus’ Ben Linsey noted that Vea was “on his way to becoming one of the NFL’s best at the position.” Vea had a high grade of 90 from Pro Football Focus through the first month of the season.
“The true 0-tech or 1-tech player who is anything more than a space-eater and run-clogger is a dying breed in the NFL,” Linsey detailed. “Nose tackles are large enough and strong enough to control double teams, but it takes a rare type of athlete to still have the sort of quickness and explosiveness needed to provide high-level value as a pass rusher.”
Vea would add to a defensive line rotation that is already one of the best units against the run in the NFL. The Bucs ranked No. 4 in rushing yards allowed at 95 per game during the regular season. Tampa Bay allowed 104 rushing yards to Alvin Kamara and the Saints in the Divisional Round. Washington notched just 86 rushing yards against the Bucs’ defense in their Wild Card matchup.
Arians on Vea: ‘I Don’t Know If There Was a Better Nose Tackle Out There’
After Vea sustained what appeared to be a season-ending injury, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians discussed what a significant loss it was to the defense. Arians noted that Vea had just started having success getting to the quarterback. Vea already notched two sacks in his first five games and was well on his way to shattering his career-high of three.
“I don’t know if there was a better nose tackle out there,” Arians noted after Vea’s injury, per Tampa Bay Times. “He was getting sacks. He was getting pressure up the middle. (He) got hurt on a great hustle play on the side going back and forth, and it was really friendly fire that got his leg.”
The Buccaneers will need all the help they can get going against a Packers team that just had 188 rushing yards against the Rams. Aaron Jones led the way with 14 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown while averaging a whopping 7.1 yards per rush. Tampa Bay held Green Bay to just 94 rushing yards in the team’s 38-10 blowout victory in October, but the Buccaneers face a much different test playing at Lambeau Field in January.
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