The Falcons had a brief reason to believe Vita Vea might be out of their way, and that hope did not last long.
After Vea requested a trade, Atlanta fans could at least daydream about one less wrecking ball in the NFC South. Instead, the Buccaneers shut that door quickly, reaching a one-year extension with the two-time Pro-Bowl defensive tackle worth $30 million. The deal ties him to Tampa Bay for two more seasons, with $6 million in new money this season.
That is a major win for the Buccaneers and a rough break for Atlanta, because Vea has been a constant problem for the Falcons for years. At 6-foot-4 and 350 pounds, he sits at the center of Tampa Bay’s run defense, the part of Todd Bowles’ unit that has been among the best in football in recent seasons.
For the Falcons, that matters in a big way. Their run game is central to everything they want to do, and without it, they might as well wave the white flag. Facing Vea was the kind of challenge Atlanta would have loved to avoid in those divisional matchups.
Now they won’t. And the alternative in Tampa does not inspire much confidence either: Calijah Kancey, Elijah Roberts, A'Shawn Robinson, and Rakeem Nunez-Roches.
Even so, Vea’s presence changes the entire picture. With Matt Bergeron, Ryan Neuzil, and Chris Lindstrom up front, Atlanta could have felt better about creating yards on the ground against that group.
With Vea back in place, the task gets much harder.
The numbers back up the concern. Last season, the Falcons averaged 125.8 rushing yards per game, but they were held to 101 yards in Week 1 and 111 in Week 15 against Tampa Bay.
Vea has also been a real factor as a pass rusher against Atlanta, piling up six sacks in 12 games. That is nearly 20% of his career sacks.
Lindstrom has had his share of trouble with Vea, especially when it comes to pass protection. Vea’s strength can overwhelm him, even though Lindstrom is capable of handling just about anyone. It is enough to make Kevin Stefanski think twice about running Bijan Robinson to the right.
The Falcons have had more success throwing the ball against the Buccaneers in recent years than running it, but even that part of the offense has looked flat entering the regular season. That makes the timing of the Week 8 and Week 16 meetings important, since midseason matchups may give Atlanta’s passing game time to find some rhythm.
What Atlanta did not need was Vea staying put in Tampa. The trade request gave the NFC South a little opening. The extension slammed it shut.
In Other News...
Simone Biles Turned Falcons-Colts Into A Sideline Talking Point
Simone Biles appearance at the Colts preseason game against the Falcons added a little extra star power to an otherwise routine August matchup. She was there to support her husband, safety Jonathan Owens, who signed a one-year deal with Indianapolis in March and handled the kind of quiet opening-night workload that usually gets lost in the shuffle of preseason football.
For Atlanta, the sightline mattered as much as the snap counts. Biles has been back in the public eye after recovering from a serious health emergency that required hospitalization, and her presence on the sideline turned a standard exhibition game into a talking point well beyond the box score. Owens finished with one tackle, but the bigger moment may have been the attention his wife brought to a game the Falcons otherwise would have moved past quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Trade Is Creating A Defensive Ripple Few Fans Saw Coming
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Ian Cunninghams deal may be producing even more value than Atlanta first expected, thanks to the draft capital that came back in the package. Those picks became Harold Perkins Jr. and Kendal Daniels, and both have made early impressions during training camp and preseason work, creating a ripple effect that has quietly added competition and depth across the defense. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Backups Just Changed The Feel Of Several Roster Battles
The Falcons left Indianapolis with a preseason win and, just as important, a deeper look at the players trying to pry open roster spots. After a week of joint practices, Atlantas backups carried plenty of the load in a 34-6 victory over the Colts, with Tyler Goodson bursting for a 49-yard rushing touchdown and both Cooper Rush and Jack Strand directing scoring drives. For a roster in the middle of sorting out its depth, that kind of showing can matter as much as the final score.
Atlantas defense helped keep the night firmly in the Falcons control, holding Indianapolis under 200 yards and out of the end zone. Those kinds of performances tend to sharpen competition on the fringes of the roster, especially when reserves make the case that they can handle more than just late-game snaps. The broader picture now is less about the preseason result itself and more about which of these performances will carry real weight when the team has to make its cuts. [Read more 🡒]