This Single Player Could Swing Cardinals vs Bucs Matchup

The Arizona Cardinals need to be on high alert for this game-wrecker.

Jan 16, 2023; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea (50) reacts after making a sack on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (not pictured) in the first half during the wild card game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- Arizona Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon has a running list of "War Daddys" - players that are able to impact a game at higher than normal levels that also play with motor and violence.

While Gannon specifically didn't add Tampa Bay Buccaneers DL Vita Vea to that list, it's sure implied.

The Cardinals will see Vea in Sunday's Week 13 matchup at Raymond James Stadium, who is one of the league's biggest game-wreckers both figuratively and literally.

Vea, standing at 6-4 and weighing 347 pounds, moves at lightning pace for his size. He impacts both the run and pass game at high levels and has consistently done so for years in the league.

So, what's it been like game-planning for Vea?

"Hard," Gannon said this week.

"He's a really good player. I mean, he really is, when you watch - like he's been doing it a long time. What sticks out to me is how savvy he is for obviously his skill set, but then how smart and instinctive and savvy he is.

"It's like, 'Why'd he switch his stance on this, first and 10 in the middle of the game?' and it's scat, which is five-out pass. So it's like he went from a run call to on his own just knowing that it was pass, like you see that show up a lot. Just a really smart, disruptive player that's always in the right spot.

"His stamina too is big time. He plays a lot of downs for them. He makes that thing go. He really does. He's really good player."

Vita Vea casually splitting a double-team here.

I asked Jonathan Gannon what it was like game-planning for big dog this week:

"Hard. He's a really good player. I mean, he really is, when you watch - like he's been doing it a long time. What sticks out to me is how savvy he is… pic.twitter.com/wyoDphvtZU

— Donnie Druin (@DonnieDruin) November 29, 2025

Vea's PFF pass rush grade of 76.9 ranks 11th out of all defensive interior players.

Vea is just one of many chess pieces head coach Todd Bowles has to place on the board. The Buccaneers' defense is one of the most aggressive in the league, and a Cardinals offensive line that allowed 15 quarterback hits last week (and down Will Hernandez) will have their work cut out for them.

"He studies. He really does, because he's adapted every stop that he's been at," Gannon said of Bowles.

"You see midyear he'll change things. (He) has his staples, but he's very creative. He understands the run game really well and how to attack it. He understands protections really well and how to attack them. He puts his players in good spots. He's one of the best out there in my opinion.”

Tampa's defense isn't nameless, either. Prominent players such as Lavonte David and Antoine Winfield patriol the area behind Vea - though games are won and lost in the trenches.

With such force and versatility, Vea holds the unique privilege of being capable of ruining Arizona's gameplan.