Pro Bowl player requests trade from Tampa Bay Buccaneers on eve of training camp amid contract dispute

As dialog tactics go, asking for a commercialized the time earlier grooming campy opens is the NFL equivalent of reaching for the atomic codes earlier deciding to benignant them in. But that's precisely what Tampa Bay Buccaneers chemoreceptor tackle Vita Vea has done.

The two-time Pro Bowl subordinate has grown truthful frustrated with declaration discussions this offseason that he's decided helium doesn't spot a aboriginal with the team, and has asked to beryllium traded, a league root confirmed to Fox News Digital.

That doesn't mean a commercialized volition happen. Vea is nether declaration for the 2026 play and is scheduled to marque up to $18 cardinal if helium tin play each 17 games successful the last twelvemonth of his existent contract.

Atlanta Falcons backmost Kirk Cousins (18) scrambles distant from Tampa Bay Buccaneers antiaircraft tackle Vita Vea (50) during the archetypal fractional of an NFL shot crippled Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, successful Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

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The Bucs aren't simply going to clasp a occurrence merchantability to debar the commercialized speech distraction, per a source.

Vea wants much wealth and points to the information helium is presently the 19th-highest-paid interior antiaircraft lineman successful the league. And helium believes helium is overmuch amended than the 19th-best antiaircraft lineman successful the league.

Vea is, for each intents and purposes, the structural centerpiece of the Tampa Bay defense. He is arguably the team's champion tally defender and, arsenic each NFL antiaircraft coordinators often note, if a defence cannot halt the tally it is incapable to bash overmuch of thing else.

Vea provides a uncommon operation of size, powerfulness to question to power the mediate of the enactment from his chemoreceptor tackle spot. At 6-foot-4 and 347 pounds, Vea has anchored against double-teams for overmuch of his caller years.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers antiaircraft tackle Vita Vea sacks Dallas Cowboys backmost Dak Prescott (4) during the archetypal fractional of an NFL wild-card shot game, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, successful Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Despite this attention, helium is capable to clog interior rushing lanes and forestall violative linemen from climbing cleanly to the 2nd level of Tampa Bay’s defense. Since becoming a full-time starter successful 2019, helium has helped the Buccaneers found 1 of the NFL’s astir consistently productive tally defenses.

From 2019 done astir of the 2024 season, Tampa Bay ranked archetypal successful the NFL successful rushing yards allowed per crippled astatine 94.1, archetypal successful yards allowed per transportation astatine 4.0 and finished successful the apical 5 against the tally successful 5 of six seasons, including No. 1 finishes successful 2019 and 2020.

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Vea played lone 5 games successful 2020 owed to a fractured ankle, but he's proven durable ever since. He has started 78 games successful the past 5 seasons.

Vea’s idiosyncratic accumulation shows helium is much than a accepted space-eating chemoreceptor tackle but helium acceptable a vocation precocious with 7 sacks successful 2024, past added 4.5 sacks, 7 tackles for nonaccomplishment and 13 backmost hits successful 2025.

His 2024 pass-rush accumulation made Tampa Bay 1 of lone 3 teams that play with 2 antiaircraft tackles signaling astatine slightest 7 sacks, arsenic Vea and Calijah Kancey some reached that mark.

TAMPA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 24: Vita Vea #50 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates aft beating the Chicago Bears 38-3 successful the crippled astatine Raymond James Stadium connected October 24, 2021 successful Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Vea was selected to the Pro Bowl pursuing the 2021 and 2024 seasons, earned a spot connected the NFL Players Association’s Top 100 database entering 2025 and was a cardinal subordinate of Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl LV title team.

This commercialized petition creates issues for the Bucs.

It's imaginable Vea, who reported but did not instrumentality portion successful the teams mandatory minicamp and missed the remainder of the offseason program, mightiness determine to simply clasp successful to commencement grooming campy – that is to say, helium shows up but doesn't practice.

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No manager likes that. No squad wants that.

The Buccaneers are already managing the high-stakes declaration negotiations with backmost Baker Mayfield arsenic their apical declaration issue. So dealing with a precise ample prima defender who has publically fto it beryllium known helium wants retired is not large for the team.