Getty Vita Vea will play against the Packers in the NFC Championship.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be a little bit nastier on their defensive line as Vita Vea (fractured ankle) has been activated for the team’s NFC Championship matchup against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. There was a growing buzz that Vea could be available at Lambeau Field after the 6-foot-4, 347-pound defensive tackle started practicing earlier this week after being sidelined since Week 5.
Prior to the news being made official, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians sounded optimistic about Vea’s chances of making an impact against the Packers.
“He’s looked real good,” Arians said on Friday, per Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud. “He’s been running around for almost three weeks and had a real good practice yesterday and a good one today. So we haven’t made that determination yet but we’ll see if we want to activate him or not but there is a chance.”
Vea looks to be moving around well from what the practice video below shows.
This was Vita Vea running in quick bursts at practice earlier today. Take that for what it’s worth.
Bruce Arians said he had a real good practice yesterday and a good one today. #Bucs
Bucs Held Opponents to Just 2.68 Rushing Yards per Carry With Vea on the Field
It remains to be seen how much Vea will play in the NFC Championship, but we can expect to see the star tackle see some snaps. Vea gives the Bucs one more player to rush MVP favorite Aaron Rodgers up the middle and can have an even bigger impact in potentially slowing down the Packers’ eighth-ranked rushing attack. ESPN’s Field Yates pointed out why Vea’s return may be more impactful than some expect.
“The Bucs run D is always great, but it’s just nasty if Vita Vea returns,” Yates tweeted early Friday. “Teams ran the ball 85 times when Vea was on the field this year, averaging 2.68 yards. No rush went for longer than 14 yards and 18 of them went for 0 or negative yards. A dominant force.”
Through the first five weeks of the season, Pro Football Focus graded Vea as a 90.1, which was the second highest-rated defensive lineman at the time of his ankle injury. This past offseason, Pro Football Focus’ Ben Linsey described why Vea made such an impact on opposing offenses.
“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.”
Antonio Brown Will Not Play vs. Packers
It is not all good news for the Bucs, however, as star receiver Antonio Brown will not play against the Packers. Arians admitted on Friday the team initially thought Brown was further along than he ended up being by the end of the week.
“I just talked to him this morning, and to put him on the plane and fly up there and have it swell more doesn’t make any sense,” Arians noted, per ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “He wasn’t as close as we’d hoped, so we’ll get him ready for the next one.”
The good news for the Buccaneers is that the team is loaded at wide receiver. With Brown’s absence, we can expect to see second-year standout Scotty Miller receive additional snaps against the Packers. Rookie wideout Tyler Johnson is another name to watch after making a clutch fourth-quarter reception to convert on 3rd & 11 deep in Tampa Bay’s territory during last weekend’s NFC Divisional win over the Saints.
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