Donovan Smith and Vita Vea miss practice

Starting left tackle Donovan Smith and rookie first-round defensive tackle Vita Vea both missed Monday's practice as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prepared for Sunday's game at the New Orleans Saints.

Smith sprained his right knee two weeks ago in practice and was given a timetable of two to four weeks to return. Vea drafted 12th overall in April, has missed over a month with a strained calf muscle, which initially was not expected to cost him regular-season games.

"He's making good progress," coach Dirk Koetter told reporters Monday of Vea. "Unfortunately, it's not to the point where he can play on the field. He's working a lot behind the scenes -- in the weight room, in the training room. He's making progress but he's just not ready to play on the field."

Koetter added that the 347-pound Vea, who has spent practice time jogging with trainers, has kept his conditioning and weight at a good level while working his way back. Free agent signee Beau Allen has worked as the starter opposite Gerald McCoy throughout the preseason and is expected to start there in Vea's absence.

Smith, 25, has started all 48 games at left tackle since he was taken 34th overall by the Bucs in the 2015 draft. He had not missed a snap in his career until the second half of a Week 9 game against the Saints last season.

It's unclear who would start at left tackle in Smith's absence. Right guard Caleb Benenoch, who played primarily at right tackle at UCLA from 2013-15, could slide over with Evan Smith filling his spot, or the team could use a backup tackle in Michael Liedtke or Leonard Wester.

Meanwhile, the Bucs announced four roster moves, claiming defensive end Carl Nassib off waivers from the Cleveland Browns, placing defensive tackle Mitch Unrein on injured reserve, releasing defensive end Will Clarke and re-signing long snapper Garrison Sanborn.

Nassib, 25, was cut on Sunday to make room for several waiver additions the Browns made. He has 5.5 sacks in 30 games (15 starts) over two seasons since the Browns took him in the third round in 2016. He drew attention on HBO's Hard Knocks this preseason for giving financial advice to teammates and ribbing Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

Unrein, 31, joined the Bucs on a three-year, $10.5 million deal in March, but he has been unable to return from a concussion sustained early in training camp. He could be a candidate to return from IR after eight weeks.

Clarke, 27, signed with Tampa Bay shortly after being cut by the Cincinnati Bengals last September. He played in 15 games (one start) last season and had 2.5 sacks, bringing his career total to 7.0 through four seasons.

Sanborn, 33, snapped for Tampa Bay last year after spending the previous eight seasons with the Buffalo Bills.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)