Vita Vea is making his return to the field for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday versus the Green Bay Packers. Despite returning from injury, Peter Schrager of Fox Sports shared that Bruce Arians may utilize Vea in a goal-line package in the NFC Championship Game.
"It is not looking good for today." 👀 @PSchrags fills us in on the status of several @Buccaneers heading into the NFC Championship game at Lambeau ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/gXGXBnsuZe
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 24, 2021
Back in Week 5 of the regular season, Vea suffered a fractured leg, forcing him to miss the rest of the regular season. Vita Vea would be placed on injured reserve and the Buccaneers hoped that the stout interior defender would be able to return in the playoffs.
After taking care of business in the first two playoff games, Tampa Bay is able to have Vea available in the interior of their defense. Prior to being sidelined with a leg fracture, Vea was having a productive season with three tackles for loss, five quarterback pressures, and two sacks.
Above all, Vea's presence in the middle of the Buccaneers' defensive line helped them boast the No. 1 ranked run defense. While he will slot back into his usual nose tackle role, Vea could find himself with the football in his hands apart from clearing a hole for either Ronald Jones or Leonard Fournette.
Before Vea became a dominant interior defender, he was a running back in high school, towering over opposing defenders. Given his previous experience running the football, Arians may have something up his sleeve. And seeing that there could be snow on the ground in the NFC Championship Game, having a big guy like Vita Vea at the goal line could be valuable.
Follow Us
Subscribe