Bucs first-round pick Vita Vea carted off with apparent leg injury

There have already been a rash of key injuries with NFL training camps having just gotten underway, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the latest team to be bitten by the injury bug.

On Sunday, Bucs first-round pick Vita Vea was carted off the practice field with what appeared to be a leg injury.

#Bucs first round pick, DT Vita Vea, leaves practice on a cart after suffering what appeared to be a left calf injury: pic.twitter.com/Fd34qunMBF

— PewterReport (@PewterReport) July 29, 2018

Vea initially limped off the field under his own power, so that is a positive sign. Tampa head coach Dirk Koetter told reporters the extent of the injury is unknown.

“Vita left practice; not sure what it is. It’s a lower leg injury of some kind,” Koetter said. “We’ll know later. I don’t know right now.”

Vea, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, is expected to start right away for the Bucs. The former Washington star should solidify Tampa’s interior defensive line if and when healthy, so the Bucs will be hoping they get similar news to the news the Pittsburgh Steelers received on Sunday about one of their key players who went down in practice.