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About the Author: Scott Reynolds
There is a chance that Bucs nose tackle Vita Vea could play when Tampa Bay takes the field next Monday night against the New York Giants despite suffering a knee injury at Washington. Vea was carted off the field near the end of the Bucs’ 29-19 loss with a knee injury.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Monday morning that Vea’s knee injury wasn’t severe.
#Bucs standout DT Vita Vea was diagnosed with a bone bruise and slight MCL sprain after his MRI, source said. There was some concern there for more, and Vea may miss some time. But could have been much worse.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 15, 2021
Yet during his Monday press conference, head coach Bruce Arians suggested that Vea might not miss a game with his knee injury.
“We’ll just have to wait to see because he can bear weight,” Arians said. “We’ll just wait and see if he can play this week or not.”
The Bucs won’t practice until Wednesday this week and have an extra practice due to the fact that they’ll host the Giants on Monday Night Football. So there is an extra day for Vea to rest and recover.
This isn’t the first time Vea left a game with a knee injury that looked serious, only to return for the next game. That happened in 2018 during his rookie year at Cincinnati. Vea injured his knee in the fourth quarter, but it was serious and he played the following week at Carolina.
“That’s really good news,” Arians said. “Don’t know his availability for this week yet, but he’s a tough guy. He’s had that thing before, so he knows how to deal with it.”
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