Buccaneers activate DT Vita Vea for NFC Championship vs. Packers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be more whole on defense for Sunday's NFC Championship Game at the Green Bay Packers. 

Tampa Bay officially activated defensive tackle Vita Vea from injured reserve, clearing the 25-year-old to play at Lambeau Field. Vea suffered a fractured ankle in the Week 5 loss to the Chicago Bears and was feared to be out for the season. However, he made significant progress in his recovery throughout December, and his team's playoff victories over the Washington Football Team and New Orleans Saints provided him with an opportunity to return to the lineup. 

Vea was designated to return to practice earlier this week. 

"He's looked real good," head coach Bruce Arians previously told reporters, per Kevin Patra of the league's official website. "He's been running around for almost three weeks and had a real good practice yesterday and a good one today. So we haven't made that determination yet but we'll see if we want to activate him or not but there is a chance."

Arians and company made the determination on Friday, the same day that the team ruled wide receiver Antonio Brown out for Sunday's contest due to a knee injury.