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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers do not plan to trade Vita Vea, despite the defensive tackle’s recent request, general manager Jason Licht told reporters Thursday.
News broke last week that Vea asked for a trade after contract extension talks with Tampa Bay had stalled. Vea, a two-time Pro Bowler, is in the final season of a four-year, $71 million contract extension he signed in 2022.
“I have no plans of trading Vita,” Licht said at Thursday’s training camp. “We love Vita. We’ve been engaged with his agent. I don’t know how it’s going to end, but we’ve been engaged with his agent.”
Vea attended, but did not participate in, the Bucs’ mandatory minicamp last month. The 31-year-old has not participated in training camp, but Licht said it’s precautionary because Vea has a minor back injury.
Vea has spent his entire NFL career with the Buccaneers, who drafted him in the first round in 2018. He’s appeared in 112 regular-season games (107 starts) and eight playoff games. After winning four consecutive NFC South titles, the Buccaneers fell just short of another last season after finishing 8-9, losing the tiebreaker to the Carolina Panthers.
This offseason, Licht made several aggressive defensive upgrades by drafting edge Rueben Bain Jr. and linebacker Josiah Trotter. He also signed several veterans, including linebacker Alex Anzalone, defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson and defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches. Vea is set to be at the heart of that revamped unit.
But Vea isn’t the only Bucs player unhappy with his contract situation, as quarterback Baker Mayfield said last week that he felt “disrespected” and “undervalued” during extension talks with the team this offseason.
Mayfield, 31, said he set the deadline for an extension to get done before training camp began. He added that the team made him offers, but he wanted to be compensated like a franchise quarterback.
When asked Thursday if the team views Mayfield as such, Licht said, “We think he is. We love Baker. Our feelings for Baker haven’t changed.”
Mayfield will play out the final year of the three-year, $100 million deal he signed in 2024. The Buccaneers could use the franchise tag on Mayfield in 2027, but Licht said they would rather not and continue working toward a long-term extension.
Mayfield has a 27-24 record as the Bucs’ QB and led them to the playoffs as NFC South champions in 2023 and 2024, two seasons in which he also earned Pro Bowl nods. He had a down year in 2025 while playing through injuries, and Tampa Bay lost five of its final six games.
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