The agent for Buccaneers DT Vita Vea told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times that he’s pessimistic the two sides will work things out in their contract standoff.
“I just don’t see it ending in anything but a trade at this point,” he said.
Vea has continued his hold-in at Buccaneers training camp as he seeks a new deal in the final year of his contract. Tampa Bay has not engaged at all with Vea’s camp on an extension and the veteran seems to have taken that personally.
His camp has been saying Vea will not play without a new contract or a trade. For now, the Buccaneers have been willing to call Vea’s bluff and let him sit out of practice with plenty of time until Week 1.
There’s been significant trade interest in Vea but the Buccaneers have rebuffed all callers to this point.
It does feel like Vea’s agent definitely wants to amp up the pressure on the team, particularly with another notable veteran dissatisfied with their contract on Tampa Bay’s hands in QB Baker Mayfield.
The veteran defensive tackle averaged $17.75 million per year on his current deal, which makes him the league’s No. 19 overall highest-paid interior lineman.
Vea, 31, is a former first-round pick of the Buccaneers back in 2018. The Buccaneers picked up Vea’s fifth-year option which will cost them $7.638 million fully guaranteed for the 2022 season.
He later signed a four-year, $71 million extension with Tampa Bay. The team cleared approximately $9 million by converting a large portion of Vea’s $12.5 million base salary for 2023 into a bonus.
He’s set to earn a base salary of 17,000,000 in 2026.
In 2025, Vea appeared in all 17 games for the Buccaneers and recorded 34 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two pass defenses, and one fumble recovery.
We’ll have more on Vea as the news is available.
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