Early in the second half of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 20-16 Week Two win at Detroit, starting nose tackle Vita Vea was sidelined by a knee injury. Head Coach Todd Bowles said on Monday that Vea has not yet been ruled out for next Sunday's game against Denver, but if he can't play the Buccaneers will be thin on the defensive line with Calijah Kancey also dealing with a calf injury.
If the Bucs' defense needs reinforcements up front, maybe they should ask Christian Izien if he can help out.
Okay, that's not a serious question, but it has only taken two weeks this season to spotlight how many ways Izien can help the Buccaneers on defense. An undrafted rookie in 2023 who won the slot corner job and held it all season, Izien has now played outside corner for a half against Washington and free safety for the whole game against Detroit. The first move was necessitated by injuries to three cornerbacks in the Commanders game, the second by the foot injury that kept Antoine Winfield Jr. out against the Lions.
Rookie Tykee Smith, who took over for Izien as the starter in the slot in 2024, was laid up by the flu for much of last week, and if he had been unable to play in Detroit, Izien was the first choice to fill in there, too. Instead, he logged 85 defensive snaps at safety – a position he played in college but did not play as a rookie – and contributed nine tackles, two passes defensed and a critical fourth-quarter interception.
"Izien is a baller," said Bowles. "We knew that last year when we got him. No matter where you put him, if you put him in the game, you're going to see him and he's going to flash and he's going to make some tackles and he's going to make a play."
Izien contrasted his role on Sunday to the one he played last season, when he came on and off the field based on whether the Bucs' defense was deploying a nickel package. He said playing every snap let him get into the "complete flow" of the game. He was definitely dialed in during the home stretch, when the Rams took three drives deep into Tampa Bay territory but came up empty on all of them. In addition to his pick at the Bucs' nine-yard line with 7:34 left in regulation, Izien combined with safety Jordan Whitehead to stop running back Jahmyr Gibbs at the Bucs' six on a fourth-and-eight receptions, three yards shy of a first down.
"I think it was important just for everybody to play together yesterday, you know, whether you're playing your normal position or playing another position," said Izien. "Trust the preparation we do here throughout the week. We had a lot going on this week [with] Tykee being sick, not practicing much, we weren't sure who was playing and who wasn't playing, so just dealing with that [and] staying true to the game plan."
The Bucs' cross-trained a number of their defensive backs in the offseason and during training camp in order to have as many options as possible if injuries struck the secondary, as they have very frequently in recent seasons. Izien, Smith, Zyon McCollum, Josh Hayes and Tavierre Thomas are all capable of playing several positions. The Bucs didn't necessarily hope to have to rely on that versatility this early in the season, but at least they were ready.
"[I] didn't want [or] expect to use it that early, but we practice it," said Bowles. "We practiced it in the spring, we practiced it in the summer, and they're comfortable out there in their roles – which ever they have to play, and they came through."
