Buccaneers DT Vita Vea Discusses Return From Injury

Who would have thought that Vita Vea would take the field for the Buccaneers again during the 2020 season?

There was at least one person: Vea, himself.

Miraculously after fracturing his ankle against the Chicago Bears in Week 5, Vea was able to take 33 snaps for Tampa Bay in the NFC Championship. Vea didn't land on the box score for his showing versus Green Bay, but compiled a couple of quarterback pressures on Aaron Rodgers as a part of Tampa Bay's disruptive pass rush. 15 weeks removed from a brutal injury, it was about all the Bucs could ask for.

"Obviously, I was down and out that night, but I think that night I told myself, ‘If you just push through this, push through rehab, you might have a chance,'" Vea shared on Friday about his injury. "They told me I might have a small chance of making it, so I took those chances of what they said, and I really took it to heart. That’s what I stuck with.”

Vea would proceed to take the recovery process head-on, working with the Buccaneers' strength staff six days per week in the weight room. Vea also linked up with fellow Bucs defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh, who has a personal chef, "eating right" as he continued to nurse the injury.

Vea was designated to return earlier last week, opening a 21-day window for him to return to practice with the hopes of being activated from the injured reserve. Head coach Bruce Arians was impressed with Vea's movement skills along the way, and by Friday, Vea had been activated and cleared to play.

“I don’t think it was that hard, honestly," Vea said about the recovery process. "I’ve got a good group of people around me. I had my family and friends in my ear the whole time [along with] my teammates over here. I stayed over here, I stayed in meetings. I was coming to position meetings, defensive meetings and stuff like that.

"I think that just helped me stay locked into football, really keep my mind off the injury and focus on learning more about football.”

Vea opened his season with 10 tackles and two sacks across the first five games. After shaking the rust off against the Packers and provided an additional week to prepare for the Super Bowl, all eyes will be on the Buccaneers' nose tackle and his potential to make a big impact on the game.