Vita Vea is all smiles after losing tooth in collision vs. Colts

Dental implants aren't cheap.

But with a massive contract extension likely looming in his future, Vita Vea can surely afford one. It looks like he'll need one after Sunday.

The fourth-year Tampa Bay Buccaneers nose tackle cracked his face against the helmet of Indianapolis Colts guard Mark Glowinski in the first half of Sunday's Colts-Bucs matchup. His own helmet had come loose, and his face mask rode up his head, leaving his chin exposed to the football elements.

The elements won, as they so often do. Vea lost one of his upper front teeth on the collision that left his mouth bloodied.

No tooth, no problem

But Vea wasn't fazed. The Tampa Bay trench menace was all smiles as he walked to the sideline, showing off his bloodied face like a proud hockey player. Where violently losing a tooth amounts to a significant medical issue for those of us not paid to collide with large men for a living, it's a minor inconvenience for a player like Vea.

He kept playing with his busted face. There will be plenty of time to deal with it when football is done. A 38-31 Tampa Bay win will surely blunt Vea's pain.

He was happy to smile again for the camera after the game, revealing that his tooth had broken in half.