Will Vita Vea Get Traded? What His Agent, Buccaneers Gm Have Said

To trade, or not to trade Vita Vea: that is the question for Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht.

Vea, one of the key members of the Buccaneers' defense, already requested a trade at the start of training camp. In the time since, his agent has gotten more pessimistic about the possibility that the two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle will get the contract extension he's seeking.

"I just don't see it ending in anything but a trade at this point," Vea's agent, Collin Roberts, told the Tampa Bay Times on Aug. 5.

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht told reporters on Aug. 6 that he has a different point of view.

"I have no plans of trading Vita," Licht said. "Vita's a great player. We all know Vita. I think one of the better D-linemen in franchise history and a very important piece of this."

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Licht did not provide any details on the progress of contract negotiations with Vea and his agent when asked by reporters at training camp.

The veteran defensive tackle has not been participating in practice at training camp over the last week. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said on July 29 that Vea tweaked his back during a conditioning test on July 28, disputing conjecture from some training camp observers that the stalwart defender was holding in for a new deal.

"We can play without him (Vea), that's not a big deal," Bowles told reporters Thursday. "You don't want to play without him, but we can play without him."

Vea is entering the final year of a four-year, $71 million extension he signed in 2022. In eight NFL seasons, all spent with the Buccaneers, Vea has tallied 256 tackles and 35 sacks in 112 games. Last year, he recorded 4.5 sacks and 13 quarterback hits.

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Vea is not alone in his frustration with the Buccaneers and his current contract situation. The defender's contract dispute is similar to that of quarterback Baker Mayfield, who sought an extension of his own prior to the start of training camp. Both Mayfield and Vea are due to enter the 2026 season on expiring deals.

The quarterback said publicly that he set a deadline for the start of training camp for a deal to get done. When it didn't happen, he cut off negotiations to keep his focus on playing. While Vea did not lay out a similar deadline, the recent public comments from his agent spark questions about whether his contract dispute will end in an extension or a trade before the season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Vita Vea get traded? What his agent, Buccaneers GM have said