When Green Bay and Tampa Bay met in the regular season, Vita Vea was not in the starting lineup. The mammoth defensive tackle did not play because he fractured his ankle the game before against Chicago. Many people thought that the subtraction of Vea could lead to the Packers having a big day on the ground. That didn’t happen. Nor did it for many teams in the league. Tampa Bay had one of the best run defenses without Vea, and now getting the massive run stopper potentially back for the NFC Championship Game is a huge addition for Tampa Bay.

#Bucs are designating DT Vita Vea for return from injured reserve. He will begin practicing Wednesday and could be activated for Sunday's NFC title game. Vea fractured his ankle against the Bears in Oct.

— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 18, 2021

This will obviously test the Packers’ interior line, but should you be concerned? Well, Vea is a damn good player, so, of course, there is a tinge of concern. But the Packers’ interior offensive line has been so good this season. Elgton Jenkins is the best left guard in football. Corey Linsley is an All-Pro center. Lucas Patrick is above average at his job. This interior line has been tested throughout the year, and they’ve passed almost every test. Vea’s addition obviously boosts that Buccaneers defense, but does it mean Green Bay is screwed? Not entirely.

The other part of this is are we sure Vea’s conditioning will be ready for this one? The media guide has him checking in at 346 pounds. But that might be underselling him. If you’re a guy who cultivates mass like Vea does, and you have a broken ankle, he likely added a few lbs, right? And getting him back to game-level conditioning might be difficult. Now, he is an NFL athlete, not just some fat ass in the street, so, maybe it’s different, but Vea would likely play only 20-25 snaps.

We’ll see if the Bucs get their big man back.

Charlie.