Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea, one of the league’s premier game-wreckers in the middle of the defensive line, has requested a trade.
The 31-year-old nose tackle is seeking a long-term commitment from the team befitting his disruptive style of play. But Vea is not the only player the Bucs need to shore up for the long term, despite having one of the lowest cap figures in the NFL.
Vea’s agent, Collin Roberts, confirmed his decision to the NFL Network’s Mike Garofalo.
Vea is in the last year of a 4-year, $71 million deal he signed in 2022. According to Spotrac, he is set to make a base salary of $17 million. He carries a cap hit of $22.2 million, but a dead cap of $6.48 million. His market value is listed at $27.8 million per year, putting him just behind Cincinnati Bengals nose tackle Dexter Lawrence’s $28 million average salary.
The 6-foot-4, 347-pound nose tackle has consistently been one of the league’s most disruptive forces in the interior of the defense. Drafted 12th overall out of Washington by the Bucs in 2018, he appeared in 13 games with eight starts as a rookie; he racked up 28 tackles, four tackles for loss, and three sacks. In his sophomore campaign, he played in all 16 games and had 35 tackles, four TFLs, and 2.5 sacks; he also batted three passes.
In 2020, he appeared in just five games due to fractures in his leg. He had just 10 tackles but had three TFLs and two sacks. But he made it back to the team in time for their Super Bowl run, and had a tackle in the Bucs’ win in Super Bowl LV. He appeared in all 16 games in 2021; he had 33 total tackles, five TFLs, four sacks, and three passes defended; he also had a fumble recovery. He appeared in 14 games in 2022, racking up 31 tackles, seven TFLs, and 6.5 sacks; he also forced a fumble and had a recovery.
In 2023, he had a career high in total tackles with 43, 8 TFLs, 5.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. He was just as disruptive in 2024, with 42 total tackles and career highs in TFLs with 10 and sacks with seven; he also had a pass batted down. In 2025, he had 34 total tackles, seven TFLs, 4.5 sacks, two pass defenses, and a fumble recovery.
Over the past three seasons, Vea was the second-most effective pass rusher at the nose tackle spot. According to Next Gen Stats, his 62 combined pressures were second among nose tackles behind Dexter Lawrence’s 68, and miles ahead of the third-place finisher, Seattle Seahawks nose tackle Jarran Reed.
As part of his efforts to secure a new deal, Vea staged a hold-in during the Bucs’ summer practices. Head coach Todd Bowles seemed unfazed at the time.
“It’s not concerning,” Bowles said after mandatory minicamp practice on June 17. “We’ve been through it before. It’s part of the business.”
He declined to answer whether or not Vea would continue to sit out once training started, which it has.
“I could not tell you that yet, and I could not speak for him,” he said.
But Vea himself told the “Up and Adams Show with Kay Adams” this week that he is optimistic about getting a deal done with the team.
“I’m not sure, I think we’ll see what’s going on,” he said in a clip posted Monday. “I hope we’re close. My fingers are crossed, I think.”
Vea is not the only player demanding a long-term contract. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is also in the last year of his contract, and set a timeline for the start of training camp. He carries a cap hit of nearly $40 million in 2026. His market value is set at $53.6 million
The problem is, the Bucs are 27th in the league in remaining cap space in 2026 with $8.65 million. And thanks to void years on Mayfield’s contract, the Bucs are 17th in cap space at $25.4 million
