Part of Bucs nose tackle Vita Vea’s new slimmed down look has to be credited to former Tampa Bay teammate Ndamukong Suh. Vea and Suh were great friends as teammates in Tampa Bay and the strong bond has continued to grow despite Suh’s NFL career being over. The two of them and their families still hang out often when in town, and Vea took to the opportunity to head west for some training sessions to help slim down for the upcoming season with one of the most dominant defensive tackles in his time.
Vea is no stranger to the West Coast having played at Washington, so he was used to some cooler weather where Suh lives in Oregon.
“I was out there in sunny Portland (Oregon),” Vea said after the first day of Bucs’ mandatory mini-camp. “Just grinding away, a lot of early morning stuff. We got it together, he took me under his wing and took care of me out there.”
Vea is noticeably slimmer this offseason, yet he didn’t reveal how much he weighed when asked. Listed at 347 pounds on the team’s roster, Vea said that’s how much he weighs right now with a mischievous smile. When asked if he lost 20 pounds, Vea joked that he actually gained 20 pounds.
Vita Vea And Ndamukong Suh Are Back At It
Ndamukong Suh spent three season with the Bucs from 2019-21, never missing a game. He and Vita Vea were fantastic together in stopping the run while also generating a pass rush, helping the Bucs win Super Bowl LV in 2020. Though Suh isn’t playing anymore, he’s still trying to help out Vea as much as he can. Suh has been inviting Vita Vea out to Portland for several years to work out in the offseason and Vea finally obliged this year. The trip ended up being two weeks to workout.
“It’s just one of those things, the Portland trip, Suh has always invited me to come train with him in Portland,” Vita Vea said. “It’s just one of those things that finally – I always said I was going to come, every year it was the same answer of, ‘I’m coming out,’ but never went. And then this past offseason I finally pulled the trigger on it and went out there.”
It had been three years since Vea and Suh were officially teammates in Tampa Bay. But when they trained together it was just like it was yesterday.
“It’s like the same stuff, different place,” Vea said. “He’s used to his stuff being in football, just the training aspect, just doing it at a different location.”
Ndamukong Suh Still Mentoring Vita Vea
Ndamukong Suh has also made a name for himself off the field in a positive way for how he has found success in business ventures outside of football. As big of an impact that Suh has had on the sport, he’s making just as big of one off the field while helping others. He’s long been a mentor to players and stressed the importance of investing in the right businesses and to prepare for a life after the NFL playing days are over.
At age 29, Vita Vea still has some time left in his NFL career, but he’s still learning from his good friend. That may even help out with how Vea has become a team captain and can pay it forward with Calijah Kancey and others.
“(I’ve learned) a lot of stuff on and off the field,” Vea said of Suh. “About finances, business stuff. Just stuff that he doesn’t even have to tell me and just being able to be there in the room or around while he’s working and being able to see what it takes to be that caliber that he is in his business ventures and whatever he’s doing. It’s definitely a blessing for me to be there firsthand to watch it and also learn from him.”
