The Vita Vea Injury
August 7th, 2019
Video of injury.
As Bucs fans sit on pins and needles awaiting MRI results of Vita Vea’s injured knee later this week, we have video of the play when Vea suffered the mishap.
The video comes from Joe’s good friend Gil Arcia of BucsNation, who happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Joe knows there are medical professionals who read this here site. See if any of you can use your degrees to figure out what happened to Vea.
Joe, and the rest of Joe’s readers, would be much obliged.
DT Vita Vea went down as he took on the double team and took a little bit to get up holding his left knee. He got up, but is limping. #Bucs pic.twitter.com/dJqXtbQ2ZL
— Gil Arcia (@GilArciaBUCS) August 6, 2019
August 7th, 2019 at 1:12 pm
So yeah you can clear see here that on the play he got hurt some how. Enough said.
August 7th, 2019 at 1:22 pm
No Bueno. Get well soon Big Guy! We are going to need you healthy in a few weeks.
Go Bucs!
In BA I Trust!
August 7th, 2019 at 1:26 pm
Doesn’t look to bad, but you never know….. I case is something serious this would be really hard to swallow…….Wish u the best big fella!!!!! We need you more than ever!!!!!
August 7th, 2019 at 1:26 pm
Uh oh. Looks like bad news
August 7th, 2019 at 1:30 pm
Knee definitely buckled a little bit. Nothing gnarly like OJ’s ankle last year, but not good. Especially for a big guy.
#ItsABucsLife
August 7th, 2019 at 1:30 pm
How often in sports do we see a guy go down without twisting or banging his knee and it turns out to be ACL or MCL? All the freaking time.
August 7th, 2019 at 1:33 pm
One thing someone in here brought up was if it was a ACL he wouldn’t have been able to get up being such a big guy.
August 7th, 2019 at 1:33 pm
does not look good at all.
August 7th, 2019 at 1:33 pm
Looks to me like he strained his knee. I’m not an Orthopedic Knee Doctor but I did stay at a Holliday Inn Express last night.
August 7th, 2019 at 1:35 pm
I tore my ACL at football practice in 2007. I remember holding my knew in the same manner as Vea and it was very painful and took afewminutes to straighten my leg. I hope this is not a torn ACL but the way he is holding his knee and the fact that he required help to straighten it out has me concerned. He walked off the field but I walked albeit with discomfort for 3 weeks before my MRI, so walking is possible with the ACL year. Keeping my fingers crossed.
August 7th, 2019 at 1:38 pm
It looks to me like he strained it on the get off. There was no contact and bending the knee at an unnatural angle.
Floppy hat patrol for the next month and he will be ready for San Fran.
Crossing my fingers.
August 7th, 2019 at 1:41 pm
It looks like from the snap that it happens the third time his left foot is on the ground. The knee tweaked in an awkward motion and at his size, thats all it takes. Plus, when you tear an ACL, you go down immediately. No few steps before falling because the knee wants to stay in the bent position and it is a very painful injury in the first several minutes and then the pain subsides.
August 7th, 2019 at 1:45 pm
I’m a Physical Therapist. It looks as if he landed on his left leg and bowed in. That would put stress on his LCL and that’s about the area he reached for (the outer part of his knee joint) The LCL is what provides outer stability to his knee when his leg wants to bend at the knee joint, which is definitely something you want stable as a defensive lineman trying to bend around guards.
August 7th, 2019 at 1:47 pm
Classic Bucs training camp. LVD and Vea are on the sideline.
August 7th, 2019 at 1:48 pm
He’s done
August 7th, 2019 at 1:51 pm
Was that Cappa? If so he was doing a damn good job going up against Vita. Made his knee snap. Enter good player, exit good player. It’s a Bucs life.
#GETGREATVIVA!!!#GO BUCS!!!
August 7th, 2019 at 1:52 pm
Without actually being there to talk to him about what he felt it is all speculation. I tore my meniscus doing much less, so only time will tell.
August 7th, 2019 at 1:57 pm
Woahh just watched the close up version in slow mo and it happens when he’s going down he clearly extended his knee to the point im 100% sure vita is done for the year (torn acl)
August 7th, 2019 at 2:16 pm
I love you guys calling knee injuries from a video saying he’s done. Bucs fans have such a glass 1/2 full perspective on things.
August 7th, 2019 at 2:35 pm
Been a Bucs fan since day 1 which means he’s probably done for the season. Which also means Bucs will be forced to cut JPP in order to find another DT after the last cuts in preseason. Sapp was right about having reservations on Vea. Even if he’s not done for the season, it’ll probably mean he’ll miss lots of games and come back soft. Meanwhile Derwin James, yes, I,m going there, is gonna have another monster season.
August 7th, 2019 at 2:38 pm
Looks like whatever happened, started at the snap. Too hard to tell from this video but lets hope the ACL has been spared. Could be meniscus tear. Fingers crossed!
August 7th, 2019 at 2:42 pm
You can’t tell from that play and there’s no guarantee that’s the play he originally hurt his knee on. I have known many times where somebody has hurt there knee and continued playing and realize later they tore a ligament. I pray that’s not the case here because that’s pretty much the end of the season since we have no depth anywhere on defensive or offensive line thanks to Jason light.
August 7th, 2019 at 2:42 pm
Rick Stroud also reported that Vea had an MRI last night but no details yet.
August 7th, 2019 at 2:44 pm
I’m not a medical professional , but I can tell you that it isn’t almost impossible to diagnose a knee injury from a video . It could be a sprained MCL , it could be a slight meniscus tear , it could be patellar related. Hopefully MRI comes back fairly clean .
August 7th, 2019 at 2:53 pm
I’m no Doctor, but I can tell what I am currently, and that’s a big time Nervous Nellie!
August 7th, 2019 at 2:57 pm
Stroud reported MRI last night was inconclusive so they are doing a second one when swelling down? Back to back MRIs?
So not sure if good or bad.
August 7th, 2019 at 2:59 pm
Mike garofolo reported that early hope is lcl sprain and he has been proven to have a source inside our locker room with kwon news.
August 7th, 2019 at 3:13 pm
To the people that said they watched the video in slow motion, how were you able to do that (sorry, I’m apparently a little slow, to use a poor euphemism :p)
August 7th, 2019 at 3:15 pm
@ JoeJoeJoe
Thanks for that info update! I don’t think I can relax until a resolution (bad or good, hopefully the latter)
August 7th, 2019 at 3:17 pm
I’m wondering if it is the same leg he strained his calf on last year?
August 7th, 2019 at 3:29 pm
I said prior to camp Vita needed to lose about 30 pds. He plays to heavy in this heat. he’ll figure that out after he goes down a few more times
August 7th, 2019 at 3:30 pm
@SmoothBayRider:
Your differential diagnoses are better than some medical professionals.
Kudos to you!
tickrdr
August 7th, 2019 at 3:31 pm
I’m not a doctor, but I stayed in a holiday inn express last night.
Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst: #It’s a Bucs Life!,
#Siege All Hope, #Lord Have MRSA!
August 7th, 2019 at 3:36 pm
@JoeJoeJoe
If it’s a stretched or strained lcl or mcl, VV could probably play with a knee brace. Let’s hope nothing is torn.
August 7th, 2019 at 3:43 pm
damn….that dont look good….
GO BUCS!!!!
August 7th, 2019 at 3:45 pm
I have an Master’s of Science in Physical Therapy. 20years experience. I’ve watched the video over and over. What the ACL does is keeps the tibia (shin bone) from sliding forward past the femur. You see guys tear an ACL when they make a cut or somebody hits them on the knee joint from the side. Their body goes one way, but their foot gets caught up in the turf and their lower leg stays where it is or goes the other way. I didn’t see that necessarily with Vea. He’s staying low, keeping his knees flexed and he’s moving to his left. ACL tears are often associated with MCL and medial meniscus tears (google unhappy triad), which would be more likely if he grabbed his right knee. Since he was moving to his left and it was his left knee, I’m wishfully thinking LCL. One key is if he heard or felt a pop or snap in his knee. That would be no bueno. I don’t like the way he immediately grabbed his knee either.
All that being said, Bucs already know what the injury is….MRI’s haven’t been around forever, and there are special tests to determine an injury (google anterior drawer and Lachman tests). Also, with that much swelling, I’m sure they’ve aspirated the knee joint. If there’s blood in the syringe, we have problems. MRI is to get an idea of the extent of the damage.
August 7th, 2019 at 3:57 pm
Well, as the video clearly shows, and I’m glad Joe is asking for orthos to diagnose from it because that is much better than a MRI or arthroscopy, the probable treatment is going to be a knee replacement. Sorry, Vita, that’s just how it goes when you are a bust.
The Bucs should immediately re-sign Chris Baker, after apologizing to him for how badly he was treated the last time he was here. Baker can also use his Special Teams acumen to help settle the Santos-Gay situation, too. Just cover the Palm trees in burlap. The Bucs may also want to consider trading a number 2 to Carolina for Gerald McCoy. Anything to save the season.
August 7th, 2019 at 3:58 pm
Geez, looks like so little, but can be season ending. Just take a look at some video clips of California Angels pitcher Felix Pena’s most recent injury. Last week a ground ball went to Albert Puljos at first base, so Pena ran over to take Puljos’ toss to get the batter out at first. The toss went a little over his head, so Pena jumped up ever so slightly and landed on his left leg first. Even in slow motion it didn’t look like much at all, but Pena went to the ground in pain. After 5 mins. of checking and stretching him out on the field first, they carried him off the field. MRI the next day showed he tore his ACL and, after surgery, will be out for 6-8 months.
Prayers to you V2, I hope your MRI results are better.
August 7th, 2019 at 4:06 pm
Obviously he’s out for the season and next season’s mini-camps.
Allen? No. Beckner? Rookie.
I venture to say the opening day starting NT is not yet on the roster.
August 7th, 2019 at 4:07 pm
I have a degree in Video Medical Diagnosis…….and from what I saw coupled with a MRI that is inconclusive is that…..”we’ll see what happens”……
August 7th, 2019 at 4:09 pm
Make that the right leg he landed on first, and tore the ACL. BTW, he also injured his left ankle rolling it as he tagged the bag on his next step. And those are standard plays pitchers practice and perform from spring training on hundreds of times.
Double BTW: Former Angel pitcher Garrett Richards similarly tore his torn patella tendon trying to cover first base on a double play in Fenway Park and was carted off the field.
August 7th, 2019 at 4:11 pm
Hope Vita will be fine. However, it is sometimes an awkward fall that causes a serious injury. I don’t like the way the big guy fell on the outside of his left knee which is an unprotected part of the anatomy. That a lot of weight to hit the ground so unprotected. Hope it’s not an ACL injury. Good luck Vita and rejoin the team soon!
August 7th, 2019 at 4:13 pm
Jim Miller at camp today just said on Sirius that vita is walking around like there is nothing wrong but they are doing more tests to make sure all good… Just repeating for yas..
August 7th, 2019 at 4:31 pm
Ditto what Brian says, to me if it was serious he would have had the MRI but I would like to say I heard Miller say he’s walking around like he is fine. Hopefully that is true.
August 7th, 2019 at 4:31 pm
He is done
August 7th, 2019 at 4:41 pm
Brian Says:
Thanks, Brian.
I assume two things (yeah, I know what can happen when one assumes):
1) If Vea wore a brace, Miller would have mentioned one, and
2) If there was any doubt about the stability of that knee, team medical staff would have mandated a brace.
August 7th, 2019 at 4:43 pm
It looks like he tweaked it pretty good, but not through a large range of movement. Was instantaneous force that great? Frankly, doesn’t look like a lot on the ACL. But it depends on his own physiology. That said, it looks like most of movement was laterally, and MCL strain, nothing else. Could very well be with the force he pulled that ligament and the bang onto the turn he got some good swelling and they wanted to wait to do the MRI. Confident it’s not an ACL tear.
August 7th, 2019 at 4:51 pm
^^^check word…movement a lot of longitudinal (along the leg) direction, not latteral direction. Can pull/stretch the MCL that way. Lots of gymnasts get those.
August 7th, 2019 at 4:55 pm
FWIW, the Bucs signed DT Stevie T. The former Licht 7nth rounder (the kicker he wanted was already off the board).
August 7th, 2019 at 4:55 pm
Well the signing of Stevie T isn’t good news
August 7th, 2019 at 5:08 pm
Stevie T? lol, that’s almost the same as Vea…
#ItsABucsLife
Also I’d like to congratulate ModHairKen for writing the absolute dumbest thing I’ve read all day today. Kudos sir!
August 7th, 2019 at 5:19 pm
@ModHairKen: hilarious, guy. That’s some funny stuff…
August 7th, 2019 at 5:41 pm
I swear One Buc must be built on an ancient burial ground or something because DANG! EVERY FRIKIN YEAR! We’re almost there and then something happens! JPP. Broke his neck? After having 12 sacks? Vea hurt in training camp again? After getting my hopes up that he’s good now? ARGH! It’s like when GMac tore a bicep 2 years in a row! Gains Adams? I swear this team is cursed. I guess some players are just prone to injury like any other dangerous endeavor. Please God no one else hurt at least till week fo! It’s a Bucs Life fo show!
August 7th, 2019 at 5:48 pm
MCL sprain would be the best news possible. It clearly happened on his 3rd step just as he planted his L toe/foot. Appears to have twisted and bent inward slightly. Cappa had leverage on him before he took that step. Time will tell. Hoping for the best, Vita is a strong candidate to have a breakout year if he can remain on the field; otherwise it’s next man up.
August 7th, 2019 at 5:50 pm
I’m not an ortho expert but I’m sure as hell married to one. She tells me @BridleOaks Buc knows his sh!t. Hope VV is ok, but heed BridleOaks Buc. And maybe go get a few extra bottles of [your liquor of choice] just in case it’s worst case.
August 7th, 2019 at 5:50 pm
Scott Smith on Twitter- “Bruce Arians said Vita Vea had an MRI after he sustained a knee injury in practice on Tues. However, because there was still swelling in the knee, they want to do a second examination on Friday. Arians concluded: “We’ll know more on Friday. But the original prognosis was good.”
August 7th, 2019 at 5:52 pm
Scott Smith on Twitter: Bruce Arians said Vita Vea had an MRI after he sustained a knee injury in practice on Tues. However, because there was still swelling in the knee, they want to do a second examination on Friday. Arians concluded: “We’ll know more on Friday. But the original prognosis was good.”
August 7th, 2019 at 5:54 pm
Why can’t we have nice things.
August 7th, 2019 at 6:01 pm
I’m not a doctor, but I watched someone fix a Japanese transmission once. Looks like he came down on it awkwardly and sprained it.
August 7th, 2019 at 6:42 pm
Hey BBonzai: I agree.
August 7th, 2019 at 9:09 pm
Right at the end as he’s going down, he losses his footing on the turf, caused a faster than normal buckle of what looks like the side of his knee…its clear, but im no expert. Get better soon big guy! Probably just a strain on the outside.