Report: Vita Vea Designated to Return From Buccaneers Injured Reserve

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will monitor the progress of injured defensive tackle Vita Vea this week, in hopes of a potential return for the NFC Championship.

Well, things just got very, very interesting ahead of the NFC Championship.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are designating defensive tackle Vita Vea to return from the injured reserve, with hopes that he will be activated in time for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. 

Vea suffered a broken leg in Week 5 against the Chicago Bears and was initially considered to be out for the season. Instead, Vea will begin practicing with the team on Wednesday, per Stroud, and has a shot at playing as Tampa Bay eyes a Super Bowl run.

Stroud shared that Vea has been intensely training in hopes of a return, which lifted the Buccaneers' confidence that he could once again take the field this season. However, his performance in practice will be telling as he appears to have recovered awfully quickly from such an injury.

Graded as one of the NFL's best interior linemen through Week 5, per Pro Football Focus, Vea could single-handedly change the outlook of Sunday's matchup against a high-powered Packers offense. Through five games, Vea has put together 10 tackles and two sacks for the Buccaneers in 2020.