Two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Vita Vea requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his agent said to NFL Network. Vea asked to be moved after attempting to secure an extension with the Buccaneers—the team that drafted him No. 12 overall in 2018 and for which he has played his entire career.
The trade request comes after Vea conducted a hold-in during mandatory minicamp in June. Coach Todd Bowles, at the time, said the situation was “not concerning” and that “it’s part of the business,” but declined to say whether he was confident the sides would reach an agreement before the start of training camp. In the end, they did not. Camp opens on Tuesday.
Vea is set to earn $18 million this season in the final campaign of a four-year contract he signed in 2022. Presumably, whichever team trades for him will be open to signing him to a new contract beyond 2026, or else it would not take on the risk of giving up assets for a player who may hold out until he gets a deal done.
The $17.5 million average annual value of Vea’s contract makes him the 19th-highest paid interior defensive lineman in the NFL, per Over The Cap. He regularly outperformed that value over the first eight years of his career, though, with a pair of Pro Bowl seasons and a reputation as one of the more powerful interior forces in the league. At 6-foot-4 and 347 pounds, Vea is both a space-eater in run defense and a capable pass rusher with 35 career sacks.
Vea played all 17 games last year for Tampa Bay and was as reliable as ever with 34 tackles, 4.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss, all of which were about in line with his career averages.
If the Buccaneers move on from Vea, the defensive front figures to take a serious blow, which could be catastrophic for a team that needs to return to playoff contention for coach Todd Bowles to regain favor with the fanbase.
