The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Vita Vea are still locked in the same stalemate, and the longer it drags on, the harder it is to see an easy exit.
Vea asked for a trade at the start of training camp as he pushed for a new deal before entering the final year of his four-year contract worth $17.75 million/year. Since then, he has not practiced during camp because of a “back tweak,” and he also staged a “hold-in” during mandatory minicamp in June. The Bucs have said they do not plan to trade him, but there has been no real movement toward a resolution.
That’s why Adam Schefter’s latest read on the situation matters. Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show, the NFL insider said Tampa Bay dealing Vea this summer is “certainly a possibility.”
Schefter made it clear he sees a player who is not budging.
“I think that that's certainly a possibility...The Buccaneers want to keep him, and they say they're not interested in trading him, and that's the way a lot of teams talk about a lot of players that they value and want to keep. But the fact of the matter is, Vita Vea is very unhappy.”
He added that the situation may not get any better in the near term.
“I think this could evolve to where, later in the summer, it wouldn't surprise me if their stance changes if Vita continues to be dug in, and I think he will be dug in.”
That’s a notable shift from the early reporting around the standoff, when there was still a sense that the tension wasn’t rising and that Vea was, as one report put it, “just making noise.” A week later, the outlook looks a lot more serious.
Part of what has pushed Vea to this point is the market around him. Jeffery Simmons reset the bar with a deal from the Tennessee Titans that pays him more than $35 million/year.
Dexter Lawrence was traded from the New York Giants to the Cincinnati Bengals for the 10th overall pick in the draft, and Cincinnati then added a year to Lawrence’s contract at $28 million. Then came another jolt on July 28, when the Philadelphia Eagles gave Jalen Carter a four-year, $152 million extension.
For Vea, that kind of movement only reinforces the case he’s making. He has been one of the league’s best defensive tackles for years, but he is now only the 19th-highest paid.
There’s also the age factor working against him from Tampa Bay’s perspective. Vea is 31, while Simmons is 29, Lawrence is 28 and Carter is 25.
The Buccaneers have to decide whether they want to commit major money to a player whose decline could arrive sooner than they’d like, even though Vea has shown no signs of slowing down. The concern is the kind of wear and tear that comes from years of taking on double-teams.
Schefter’s bottom line was simple: Vea is “dug in,” and he may not take the field without either a trade or a new contract.
That leaves the Buccaneers in a tough spot. They still value him enough to want him around, but the longer this goes unresolved, the more pressure builds for Tampa Bay to change course. If neither side moves, the Bucs could be forced into a decision before the season starts.
And Vea’s situation isn’t the only uncertainty hanging over the team. Tampa Bay is also dealing with questions about quarterback Baker Mayfield’s future after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract.
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