Giants Interested In Buccaneers’ Vita Vea

New York is in a buyer position heading into a trade deadline, which is rarely the case. It looks like the Giants will add at least one piece, and while they are among the teams in on Jonathan Taylor, a handful of D-tackles have been mentioned in connection with Harbaugh’s team. Add Vita Vea to that list.

The Giants are indeed interested in the longtime Buccaneers nose tackle, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. Teams pursued Vea before he and the Bucs found common ground on a short-term summer extension, but a team with a coach on the hot seat rebuffed interest. Vea requested a trade, but the move was contract-related rather than a Dexter Lawrence-like true departure wish. Vea said post-extension he wants to be a “Buc for life.”

Tampa Bay has reemerged after a dreadful start, winning its past two games — both over division opponents — since Baker Mayfield returned to action. With the NFC South again checking in as one of the worst — if not the worst — division in football, the Bucs may not elect to sell. They should not be expected to deal Vea, Fowler adds.

Interest in Vea is logical. The Bucs did not prioritize him the way they did in 2021 — when a four-year, $71MM extension emerged — and his latest deal is a one-year bump. Vea received an impressive guarantee at signing ($46MM) on a deal that locked in his 2026 and ’27 compensation. He is on the Bucs’ books at $23MM for 2027. A trade now, however, would be tricky for Tampa Bay to manage. The Bucs moving Vea before the deadline would tag them with nearly $28MM in dead money — a bill that would mostly come due next year.

While Vea seems unlikely to move, Fowler adds it would surprise if the Giants did not leave the trade deadline with some D-line help. They were not planning to trade Lawrence, but he requested a move; the Bengals then offered a top-10 pick, convincing the Giants to bail on their longtime front-seven centerpiece. Pro Football Focus has graded D.J. Reader first among D-tackle regulars this season, but the repeat connections to trades indicates the Giants want better help around him.

The Giants signed Shelby Harris as a stopgap solution in addition to Reader. Harris, 35, has started seven games this season. Second-year player Darius Alexander. PFF respectively ranks Alexander and Harris 93rd and 103rd among D-tackles; they have combined on a half-sack and one tackle for loss this season. Both face the prospect of reduced playing time after the deadline, but the Giants have lost a few options already. (Another option, the Eagles’ Moro Ojomo, is probably out of reach due to his NFC East presence.) They now have less than six days to find an upgrade on the market.