Folks who follow Joe on Twitter (@joebucsfan) have seen Joe mention more than once or twice how much Vita Vea looks slimmed down. That may not be his only physical attribute that has changed.
Speaking yesterday to the local pen and mic club, Vea, 30, seemed to admit he’s slowed down as a football player.
Asked what has changed for him since he was drafted by the Bucs 12th overall in 2018, Vea suggested he’s a smarter but maybe slower.
“You want to say it gets a little easier, but it kind of does not,” Vea said of his eighth NFL training camp. “The game, over the years, slows down for you. You start to learn more and more, when you think you know everything, you actually do not, so you learn more every day.
“[You] just still try and be a student of the game and learn more as you go.”
Joe doesn’t know if Vea being slimmer is for stamina or speed. Or both.
It used to drive Joe bananas that Vea barely took half the defensive snaps. A man that good needs to be on the field. But in the past four seasons, Vea’s percentage of defensive snaps played has increased each year.
Is that because he is smarter? In better shape? Joe can’t say. Being a smarter player does allow one to play quicker, even if he’s slowed a little by all the trenches battles and Father Time.
Maybe the leanest Joe has ever seen Vita Vea look.
— JoeBucsFan (@JoeBucsFan) July 28, 2025
Atlanta-ready! pic.twitter.com/itynHZlSPO
