Vita Vea practicing without club on his right hand

[Captain Fear]

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Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea had surgery on his right hand in late June and he began practicing at training camp with a club on the hand in order to protect against further injury, but Wednesday saw his condition take a step in the right direction.

According to multiple reports from Bucs camp, Vea is working in Wednesday’s practice without the club. That should allow him to put a deeper focus on an area where the team would like to see some improvement.

Vea had 5.5 sacks in his first two NFL seasons and the Bucs would like to see him make more of an impact as a pass rusher. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles said that Vea needs “to get his hand placement down and use his hands more” in order to get to the quarterback more often. Vea also identified other ways he could improve.

“I think the first step starts in the film room,” Vea said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “Watching film and seeing what’s available and what moves I can do and learning from other people and opponents and see how they pass rush. Also, just take to coaching from the coaches and work hard on what they’re telling me to work on.”

With Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul on the edges, Vea could find some advantageous matchups in the middle of the line. If he takes advantage of them, the Bucs should be able to make some strides beyond where they were last season.