Now that the preseason is done, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers set their sights on two things. For one, like everyone else in the area, the team will keep an eye on the weather & Hurricane Dorian updates. But from a football standpoint, the team will now focus on cutting their roster down to 53 players by 4 pm on Saturday. And then the preparation will be mainly on getting the team ready for week one of the regular season.
Week one will take place at Raymond James Stadium against the San Francisco 49ers at 4:25 pm. And two defensive players, who are featured on murals at the stadium, defensive lineman Vita Vea & linebacker Lavonte David did not play in any of the preseason games. Vea missed the games because of a sprained lateral collateral ligament, suffered during a one on one drill in training camp. And David had surgery on a meniscus tear in his left knee, forcing him to sit out the preseason.
Multiple reports had Vea doing some conditioning drills before the Buccaneers last preseason game on Thursday night in Dallas. And on Friday when asked about Vea's progress, head coach Bruce Arians advised the media the defensive lineman is progressing well.
Although Arians was not 100% sure on the availability of Vea for week one, the head coach was emphatic in stating David will be back at practice on Tuesday, as the team gets ready for the Niners.
Click below to hear the full interview with Arians