The Vita Vea Saga Has No End In Sight

Buccaneers’ Nose Tackle Vita Vea has yet to participate in practice since the start of training camp. In fact, he hasn’t participated in anything going back to OTA’s and mandatory mini-camp. He wants a new contract, he wants the long term security of an extension – and the Bucs don’t have the money or the desire to do a deal right now.

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Vea is well outside the top ten top paid defensive tackles and certainly deserves to be higher in that rank, but his deal was done years ago and that’s the way of the NFL world – the latest is always the highest paid. I mean, look around the league and see it for yourself. Does anyone really believe that Zay Flowers is on the same level as Justin Jefferson? Absolutely not, but his new contract makes him just as highly paid. Does anyone outside of delusional Dallas fans really believe Dak Prescott is on the same level as Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, or Joe Burrow? No? Because his pay puts him in that same tier.

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For Vea, I’m not sure what leverage he really has. He wants a trade, he’s dug his heels in – but no one has the roster spot or the cap space to give him what he wants right now. Those positions were filled and dollars were spent back in March and April. And why should the Bucs be in a hurry to move him? They’d be selling him for pennies on the dollar just to get him out of town when they could wind up with a third or fourth round compensatory pick for him when he leaves in free agency. They might get a third rounder for him depending on the team that wants him, but the Bucs should be in no rush.

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If Vita wants to continue down this road, he could wind up being shipped off to a cellar-dweller like Arizona, Miami, or Cleveland. That’s a far cry from his request to be in California or Vegas. I mean, the Bucs could ship him out to San Francisco with Mike Evans and then wish him the best of luck with the substation that’s already claimed numerous players in just the second week of camp.

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Vea has two choices – play for the Bucs this season or hold out. If he holds out, he’s going to start getting fined every day which cuts into the $17-million dollars he’s scheduled to make. On top of that, if he doesn’t suit up and play at least ten games, he doesn’t accrue a season and the Bucs retain his rights for next year. Now, I don’t know about you, but I can’t name too many players that skipped a season due to a contract dispute and came back looking like the elite level player they were before.

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I understand Vita wanting the long term security of a deal and wanting to be paid like a top ten defensive tackle, because he is a top ten defensive tackle. He’s also 31 years old. And for as good as Vita is, he isn’t Lavonte David or Mike Evans – and both of those guys were getting short term deals once they reached the other side of 30.

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With Baker Mayfield needing a new contract and, with all due respect, being a more vital part to the team plus the over 20 pending free agents the Bucs will have after the season, there just isn’t the money for Vea. Not as things stand right now. And the Bucs have already started to prepare for life without Vita with the additions of A’Shawn Robinson and DeMonte Capehart.

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I still see this ending the same way I saw it ending when the trade request was first made public – the Bucs are going to give him the Trey Hendrickson treatment. Restructure his deal for this season, throw in a little extra money to get him to the $20-million dollar mark, and he plays the season. Then he can become a free agent in 2027 and go wherever he pleases. Until then, he better get on the field and start performing. Otherwise, no one is going to want to give him the money he’s looking for when he hits the open market.

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