What 49ers' Interest in Vita Vea Says About Alfred Collins

The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly among the teams contacting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers about Vita Vea, a move that would have major implications for second-year defensive tackle Alfred Collins. Collins, a 2025 second-round pick, is expected to mostly play the nose tackle role that Vea occupies. While he showed promise as a run defender, the report says he generated little pass-rushing impact, with 14 pressures on 492 snaps last year. Vea’s production is higher, including 51 pressures last season, though his career-low came in 2020 with five games due to injury. The argument is that pairing veterans like Vea and Osa Odighizuwa would shrink Collins’s role, turning a Collins development path into a shorter-term roster tradeoff.