The Bucs had a scary sight during Sunday’s game as Vita Vea suffered a knee injury that kept him out of the second half in Tampa Bay’s 20-16 win on the road against the Lions. The rest of the defensive line group, and the defense as a unit was about to rally together and make some huge stops, but it would still be a big loss for the Bucs if they don’t have Vita Vea for the long haul.

As Bucs fans waited to hear what’s going on with him we received an update from Bucs head coach Todd Bowles a day later.

Todd Bowles Reveals Injury Of Vita Vea

Bucs assistant GM John Spytek and DT Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“He’s got an MCL sprain, grade two.” Todd Bowles said.

So does this mean that Vita Vea will be out a while and the Bucs are going to be down their top two defensive tackles? Possibly, but not exactly.

Not just yet. 

Right now he’s day-to-day, but not ruled out for Sunday’s home game versus the 0-2 Denver Broncos. Typically MCL sprains like the one Vea has take anywhere from two weeks to four weeks to recover from.

Injuries just continue to mount for the Bucs. Tampa Bay was already missing starting defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. along with right tackle Luke Goedeke heading into Sunday’s game at Detroit. Then Vea exited after outside linebacker Yaya Diaby fell into him. This was the play:

Vea was ruled out for the game with a knee injury early in the second half and was seen wearing a brace on his knee in the locker room after the game.

Nonetheless, it’s a tough break for Vea, as he worked hard this offseason to transform his body partly with the hope of being able to remain healthy and available for his team. For this injury to come on what was a freak play is especially tough.

Bucs Defense Puts The Pieces Together With Vita Vea Out

Bucs DT Greg Gaines, LG Ben Bredeson – Photo by: USA Today

With Vita Vea exiting and the Bucs already shorthanded, the Bucs relied upon Greg Gaines to help pick up the slack. Gaines played in 66 out of 85 snaps, good for 78% of the entire game. Gaines had previously that amount of time when on the Rams, but his role with the Bucs has been more limited until this occasion.

“It’s a lot more snaps then I’m used to,” Gaines laughed at when speaking on Monday. “I used to get a lot of snaps in L.A. but last year I would get like 20, 25, So playing (66), I’m a little sore today.”

Gaines was at the forefront but there were also contributions all around, particularly from young players. Reserve defensive tackle C.J. Brewer was in the mix, inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis was sensational, reserve safety Christian Izien had an interception and cornerback Zyon McCollum had the best game out of everyone.

“As a defense we played really well,” Gaines said. “It was a hard-fought battle for sure. A lot of snaps. It’s tough to be a young dude coming in having to really play in the league. You’re still trying to figure everything out, the game’s moving fast. I think all our young guys did really well.”

Bucs DTs Calijah Kancey and Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Tampa Bay defense did well to withstand the loss of Vea and still emerge with a win in Sunday’s game, but there’s no denying the impact he makes.

The Bucs are 2-0 for the fourth consecutive season, and they’ll return to Raymond James Stadium in Week 3 to host the 0-2 Broncos. That’s the good news.

But both Tampa Bay victories to open the season have been costly in terms of injuries.

The team took the field in Week 1 without defensive tackles Calijah Kancey and Logan Hall and proceeded to see All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr., starting cornerback Zyon McCollum, and backup cornerbacks Bryce Hall and Josh Hayes all suffer injuries during its season-opening win over the Commanders.

To make matters worse, right tackle Luke Goedeke entered concussion protocol during the week and missed Sunday’s Week 2 victory in Detroit. And despite Logan Hall and McCollum returning for this week’s win, Winfield will be out for a few more weeks, Bryce Hall will miss the rest of the season, Hayes may not be back for a couple of weeks, and Kancey will not be rushed back into action as he recovers from a calf injury.

Already shorthanded, the Bucs might be down another starter if Vita Vea isn’t able to play. At least Tampa Bay has shown early this season that the team can find ways to get the job done regardless of who’s in the lineup.