Vita Vea

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Vita Vea
Vea with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021
No. 50 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
PositionNose tackle
Roster statusActive
Personal information
Born (1995-02-05) February 5, 1995 (age 31)
Milpitas, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight347 lb (157 kg)
Career information
High schoolMilpitas
CollegeWashington (2014–2017)
NFL draft2018: 1st round, 12th overall pick
Career history
Awards and highlights
Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2025
Total tackles240
Sacks33.0
Forced fumbles3
Fumble recoveries3
Pass deflections8
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Coaching profile at Pro Football ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Tevita Tuliʻakiʻono Tuipulotu Mosese Vaʻhae Fehoko Faletau "Vita" Vea[2] (born February 5, 1995) is an American professional football nose tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies and was selected by the Buccaneers in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft. Vea won Super Bowl LV with the team over the Kansas City Chiefs, and was selected to his first Pro Bowl the following year.

College career

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As a junior in 2017, Vea was the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and won the Morris Trophy.[3][4] On January 2, 2018, he declared his intention to enter the 2018 NFL draft.[5]

College statistics
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP Comb Solo Ast TFL Sack PD Int Yds Avg TD FF FR Yds TD
2015 Washington 13 17 13 4 3.0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
2016 Washington 14 39 22 17 6.5 5.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
2017 Washington 13 43 30 13 5.5 3.5 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 37 99 65 34 15.0 9.5 5 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0

Professional career

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Pre-draft

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Vea participated in the 2018 NFL Combine, but did not complete all drills due to a hamstring injury.[6]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span Wingspan 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Bench press
6 ft 4 in
(1.93 m)		 347 lb
(157 kg)		 32+5⁄8 in
(0.83 m)		 10 in
(0.25 m)		 6 ft 4+1⁄4 in
(1.94 m)		 5.10 s 1.77 s 2.95 s 41 reps
All values from NFL Combine[7][8]

2018 season

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Vea was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round with the 12th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.[9]

Vea strained his calf during training camp, causing him to miss the entire preseason as well as the first three games of the regular season. Vea recorded his first career sack in Week 10, during a 16–3 loss to the Washington Redskins.[10]

He finished his rookie year with 28 tackles and three sacks.[11]

2019 season

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Vea in a game against the Tennessee Titans

In Week 12, during a 35–22 win against the Atlanta Falcons, Vea recorded a sack, a career-best two pass deflections, and caught a one-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jameis Winston. As a result, Vea became the first defensive player since J. J. Watt in 2014 to record a sack and catch a touchdown in the same game, the ninth player in NFL history to accomplish both in the same game, and the heaviest player in NFL history to catch a touchdown at 347 pounds.[12] Overall, he started all 16 games and recorded 35 total tackles, 12 quarterback hits, and three passes defensed.[13]

2020 season

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During Thursday Night Football against the Chicago Bears in Week 5, Vea suffered fractures to his right leg and ankle after making a tackle on running back David Montgomery. Prior to the injury, Vea recorded one sack on Nick Foles during the 20–19 loss. Vea was placed on injured reserve on October 13, 2020.[14][15] Vea was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 28, 2020,[16] and moved back to injured reserve on December 5.[17] Vea was activated from injured reserve on January 22, 2021.[18] In Super Bowl LV, Vea recorded one tackle during the Buccaneers' win over the Kansas City Chiefs.[19][20]

2021 season

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Vea being carted off the field in 2021.

On April 26, 2021, the Buccaneers picked up Vea's fifth-year option, guaranteeing Vea $7.6 million for the 2022 season.[21] In the Week 11 loss to the Washington Football Team, Vea suffered a knee injury in the fourth quarter and was carted off the field.[22]

On January 8, 2022, Vea signed a four-year, $73 million extension with the Buccaneers.[23] As a result of the Los Angeles Rams advancing to Super Bowl LVI, Vea was selected to his first career Pro Bowl as an alternate for defensive tackle Aaron Donald.[24]

2022 season

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In the 2022 season, Vea appeared in and started 14 games. He finished with 6.5 sacks, 31 total tackles (15 solo), one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.[25]

2023 season

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In the 2023 season, Vea appeared in and started 15 games. He finished with 5.5 sacks, 43 total tackles (28 solo) and two forced fumbles.[26] He also served as a team captain in this season.[27]

2024 season

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BucsNation, a site run by SBNation, noted that Vea was "a force" in the 2024 season. As of Week 15, he led the NFC in Pro Bowl votes for defensive tackles. Up to that time, he notably contributed to his team a career-high nine tackles for loss.[28] His success was also noted by Sports Illustrated, with River Wells noting that Vea has been "particularly nasty" alongside fellow defensive tackle Calijah Kancey.[29]

NFL career statistics

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Regular season

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Legend
Won the Super Bowl
Bold Career high
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles Receiving
GP GS Comb Solo Ast TFL Sack Sfty PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds TD Rec Yds Avg Long TD
2018 TB 13 8 28 21 7 4 3.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2019 TB 16 16 35 19 16 4 2.5 0 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1.0 1 1
2020 TB 5 5 10 6 4 3 2.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021 TB 16 16 33 22 11 5 4.0 0 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022 TB 14 14 31 15 16 7 6.5 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023 TB 15 15 43 28 15 8 5.5 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024 TB 16 16 42 27 15 10 7.0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2025 TB 8 8 18 8 10 3 2.5 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 103 98 240 146 94 44 33.0 0 8 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 3 0 0 1 1 1.0 1 1

Postseason

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Legend
Won the Super Bowl
Bold Career high
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles Receiving
GP GS Comb Solo Ast TFL Sack Sfty PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds TD Rec Yds Avg Long TD
2020 TB 2 0 1 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021 TB 2 2 4 2 2 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022 TB 1 1 2 2 0 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023 TB 2 2 3 2 1 0 0.5 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024 TB 1 1 1 0 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 8 6 11 7 4 2 2.5 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0

Personal life

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Vea is the son of Sione and Fipe Vea, from Tonga.[30][31]

References

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