The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had one of the best starts in the NFL, but unfortunately everything revolves around injuries at the moment.

Last week, the Bucs were without Antoine Winfield Jr., Calijah Kancey and Luke Goedeke, but still managed to win in Detroit. The victory was costly, however, as Vita Vea was out in the third quarter with a knee injury.

Luckily, it wasn’t a worst-case scenario, as an MRI showed a sprained medial collateral ligament and no torn ligaments. Not only did the Bucs avoid a horror scenario, but Vea could also return much sooner than anyone expected.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles spoke to the media and noted that Vea practiced with the team on a limited basis on Friday. He is still unlikely to play, but the Buccaneers have not ruled him out for Sunday’s game against the Broncos.

“He’s made some progress,” Bowles said after practice Friday. “He’s gotten a lot better. We’ll see how much better he gets by Sunday. If not, we’ll grade him. If he feels good, we’ll see where he is.”

This could be a rare case where the good news for the Buccaneers is more lukewarm than anything else. While Vea’s return is great — the defense is noticeably better with him — the question is whether Tampa Bay can get away with letting him rest.

Denver isn’t good, and Bo Nix doesn’t need much help to get in trouble. The Bucs marched into Detroit last Sunday and went home with a win despite missing key players, suggesting they could do the same at home against a worse opponent.

On the other hand, everything about this Broncos game screams Trap game So the Bucs can’t take anything for granted at this point.

Vea is still limited and questionable for Sunday’s game, so all of this could prove moot. The real takeaway is that Vea will likely be healthy and able to contribute in the next series, where the Bucs’ opponents will be much tougher and the games will be more important.

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