Buccaneers' Todd Bowles, Jason Licht send different messages on future of Vita Vea

On Wednesday, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times shared that the agent for disgruntled Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea warned that he doesn't see Vea's situation "ending in anything but a trade at this point." 

Vea is set to enter the final season of a four-year, $71M contract extension he signed in 2022, and he recently requested to be traded amid his desire for a new deal and a pay raise. On Thursday, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht offered different takes on Vea's future. 

Is Todd Bowles preparing to be without Vita Vea?

According to the JoeBucsFan website, Bowles acknowledged on Thursday morning that the Buccaneers "can play without" Vea.

"That’s not a big deal," Bowles continued. "You don’t want to play without him, but we can play without him." 

Per Kevin Patra of the NFL's website, Vea's current average salary of $17.75M has him ranked 19th among interior defenders. JoeBucsFan noted that ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter said on the latest edition of his podcast that he thinks the Vea-Buccaneers situation is not "a peaceful one right now" and that Tampa Bay may decide the club has to trade the 31-year-old later in August.

Last summer, the Dallas Cowboys seemed serious about holding onto pass-rusher Micah Parsons amid his desire for a big-money deal. However, Dallas eventually traded Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for two first-round draft picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark in late August 2025. Green Bay then signed Parsons to a four-year, $188M contract that included $136M guaranteed.

Jason Licht sends clear trade message to Vita Vea, interested teams

Also on Thursday, the previously mentioned Licht strongly suggested that he won't be trading Vea anytime soon.

"I have no plans on trading Vita," Licht said, per Jenna Laine of ESPN. "We love Vita. We've been engaged with his agent recently. I don't know how it's gonna end, but we've been engaged, and that's at least some progress."

Vea hasn't practiced during training camp due to a supposed back issue. Laine added that Licht said "he does feel the relationship is salvageable and that Vea could play in Tampa beyond 2026."

Rumors suggesting the Buccaneers could move on from at least Bowles if the club misses the playoffs for a second straight year will likely hover over the franchise until further notice. Thus, it's understandable that Licht wouldn't want to part ways with somebody who has proved to be a key figure for Bowles' defenses.