Slimmed-down Vita Vea could pay off bigger for Bucs

TAMPA ― Vita Vea’s size has always been a strength. His incredible quickness and athleticism belie a man who is listed at 6-foot-4, 347 pounds, though he hasn’t been at that weight since his rookie year.

Now entering his seventh season, Vea’s midriff and metabolism have become a bigger story due to the array of injuries he has suffered over the past three years. He missed two games with toe, groin and pectoral injuries in 2023. A calf strain and foot injury caused him to sit out of three games in 2022, and a knee sprain and foot bruise cost him a game in 2021.

But by shedding a significant amount of weight, Vea could be a bigger factor in games again.

Bucs co-defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers was asked Tuesday about Vea and indicated the Pro Bowl defensive tackle has changed his body.

“We’re not going to let the cat out of the bag, but wait until you see him,” Rodgers said. “I’ll just let you see him.”

Then came a challenge from Rodgers for Vea to return to being great, not good.

“Talking about that and just looking at the plays he was leaving out there, Vita is a really strong man,” Rodgers said. “When he uses his hands and the proper technique, he’s going to be hard to stop. That’s the thing. He plays hard. He does everything we ask of him.

“Just, when you go back and look at some plays, you know you should’ve made that play. You know that guy should not be blocking you. That’s where we need him to take the next step, because he does everything — everything — else we ask him for.”

Two years ago, Vea led the Bucs with a career-high 6½ sacks while adding 31 tackles, seven for loss, 13 quarterback hits, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Last season, he had 5½ sacks, 43 tackles, eight for loss, nine QB hits and two forced fumbles.

But Vea helped the Bucs significantly more against the run (where they ranked fifth, allowing 95.3 rushing yards per game) than he did against the pass (29th, 248.9 yards per game).

If anyone has ever questioned Vea’s importance to the Bucs’ success, they don’t have to look any further back than to 2020.

He suffered a broken leg in a loss against the Bears in October but returned in time for the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers the following January.

Vea played only 33 snaps, mostly on passing downs. He didn’t record a stat, but the push he got in the middle of the defense created one-on-ones for the Bucs’ edge rushers. Shaquil Barrett had three sacks, and Jason Pierre-Paul added two as the Bucs advanced to Super Bowl 55.

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In 2021, Vea was named to the NFC Pro Bowl team.

So, he has more than confirmed his status as the No. 12 overall pick in the 2018 draft out of Washington.

Vea was rewarded with a four-year, $71 million contract extension in January 2022, with $42 million guaranteed.

Of course, with that comes the added responsibility to remain in top shape.

Sometimes, injuries can’t be avoided. But there could be some soft-tissue injuries that can be complicated by being out of shape.

The toe injury forced Vea to miss the Week 14 game against the Falcons. When he returned for games against the Packers and Jaguars, he combined for only three tackles.

The Bucs have had constant dialogue with Vea about the need to remain in great shape. Not only do they believe it would lead to better production, his endurance and play-making ability would improve, too.

The fact that Vea apparently has changed his body is a welcome sign for the Bucs entering the 2024 season.

“So, now it’s just kind of being the dominant guy,” Rodgers said, “not the good guy.”

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