TAMPA BAY, Fla. — Vita Vea clearly looks different. In preparation for his seventh NFL season, the Buccaneers nose tackle spent the offseason reshaping his body with the help of friend and former teammate Ndamukong Suh.

But the workouts weren’t about getting down to a certain number for Vea, who has sidestepped questions about his current playing weight. They were about how he feels and moves on the field.

“He’s quick,” head coach Todd Bowles said after a June 11 minicamp workout. “He looks good. He’s in shape, he’s flying around. He’s a little faster than he was last year — hopefully that continues. We look forward to him having a great training camp.”

Vea is looking to build on a 2023 season in which he had a career-high 43 tackles, including 28 solo stops, and his 5-1/2 sacks were one short of his single-season high. He also forced two fumbles in 15 regular-season games. He added three stops, including 1/2-sack, in two postseason contests.

Hungry for more, Vea spent two weeks in Portland, Oreg., working out with Suh, who played 13 seasons in the NFL without missing a game due to injury. (He did serve a two-game suspension in 2011.)

“I was out there in sunny Portland, just grinding away,” Vea said earlier this month. “There was a lot of early morning stuff, but we got it together. He took me under his wing and just took care of me out there.”

Though he was visibly thinner, Vea purposely avoided talking about his weight. Asked if he had lost 20 pounds, he smiled and said he actually gained 20 during the winter. Still listed at 347 on the Bucs roster, he suggested — insincerely — that nothing has changed.

“That’s where I’m at,” Vea said, before breaking into a big grin.

Suh, a former All-Pro defensive tackle, had been inviting Vea to work out with him for the past few several years. With a focus on playing more this season, including on third downs, Vea finally accepted the offer.

Teammates from 2019-2021, the two focused on what Vea called “functional-style training, more football-based stuff.” The 29-year-old Vea said Suh and his training team helped him see the importance at his age of weighing injury risk vs. potential reward in his workouts.

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