Buccaneers Get Awful News With Vita Vea Injury Update

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers find themselves in a bit of a downturn as they have lost two consecutive games and cannot seem to shake the injury bug through the first half of the season. It doesn't help that the latest injury update regarding defensive tackle Vita Vea comes with awful news.

Vea went down in the final minute of the team's Week 10 loss to the Washington Football Team and had to be carted off the field. It has since been announced that he suffered a slight MCL sprain as well as a bone bruise. While he managed to avoid serious injury, the fourth-year pro is expected to miss some time.

Vita Vea Injury Update

Losing a premiere run-stuffer is certainly not what the Buccaneers' defense needed right now. Tampa Bay boasts one of the best run defenses in the league and Vea's presence in the middle of the defensive line has been a major reason why. He acts as an unbreakable wall to all NFL ball-carriers.

Overall, the Buccaneers have posted Football Outsiders' fourth-best rush defense DVOA rating and are allowing just 79.8 yards on the ground per game (No. 2 in NFL). Through nine games this season, Vea has racked up 18 total tackles (2 for loss), 1 sack, 2 pass breakups and 1 fumble recovery.

Vea's versatility will be hard to replace over the next few weeks, but Tampa Bay still has the pieces in place to compete with the top teams in the NFC. The Buccaneers will look to bounce back when they host the New York Giants on Monday Night Football in Week 11 NFL action.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook today and get your first bet risk free for up to $1,000!

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.