Buccaneers, DT Vita Vea Agree To One-Year Extension

Tampa Bay’s defensive anchor had been scheduled to earn a $17MM base salary in the final year of his four-year, $71MM rookie extension from 2022 with a $1MM roster bonus pushing his cash for the year to $18MM. The new agreement adds the aforementioned $6MM this year to go along with $30MM fully guaranteed in 2027, per Fowler. By the end of the deal, Vea will be 33 years old, having completed a 10-year stint with the Bucs. He’ll have to show he can still perform at a high level to earn another new deal at that point, but Vea has been playing his best football over the last three years, so who’s to say he can’t.

Vea started with the team as the 12th overall pick out of Washington in 2018. Missing a good portion of the preseason and the first few weeks of the regular season, his rookie year got off to a slow start, but Vea established himself on the first-team defense by the end of the season. He opened his sophomore campaign as a full-time starter and showed why he had been selected so high in the first round. He got off to a really strong start in Year 3, but a fractured right leg and ankle landed him on injured reserve from Week 5 until late in the playoffs. Vea returned to the active roster in time to come off the bench for the NFC Championship and won his first Super Bowl.

The Buccaneers picked up his fifth-year option a couple months later and extended him at the conclusion of the 2021 season. Week’s later, he was selected to his first of two Pro Bowls. Over his eight years in Tampa Bay, Vea has started 107 of 112 game appearances, racking up 35.0 sacks, 48 tackles for loss, and 79 quarterback hits. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has always been a big fan of his. PFF ranked Vea the 38th-best interior defender out of 112 players graded in his rookie season and 48th in a 2022 campaign that saw him total 6.5 sacks despite missing three games. Every other season, PFF has routinely ranked Vea in the top 17 players at his position.

Seeing a contract year approaching in 2026, Vea skipped spring workouts and let Tampa Bay know that desired a new deal, but as training camp approached, an extension agreement was nowhere in sight. He stunned with his trade request at the end of July, and though no progress was gained into August, general manager Jason Licht made it clear he had no intentions of trading Vea and continued to work towards a new deal. Several teams called Tampa Bay to check in on Vea, namely the Bears, Bills, and 49ers, but Licht stood firm and held on to his guy.

In 2026, Vea returns as a key member of new-look defensive line. He’s been reunited with former Buc defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches with free agent addition A’Shawn Robinson joining the team, as well. In a division that is expected to see improved squads in Carolina and New Orleans, the Buccaneers are trying to retain the dominant standing they’ve enjoyed in the NFC South since winning the Super Bowl in 2020. With Vea back in the fold, they’ll aim to win their sixth division title in a row.

Ely Allen contributed to this post.