Gerald McCoy Is “Annoyed” With Vita Vea Contract Squabble
July 28th, 2026
Not happy.
Things are going good for former Bucs All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.
Well, until yesterday.
McCoy was a rising star at NFL Network, co-anchoring Sunday morning pregame programming and doing periodic guest sports on studio shows.
Then, the four-letter bought NFL Network, a dark day for fans and maybe a dark day for GMC. Did BSPN even want him? To GMC’s delight, the four-letter signed GMC to a contract late in the spring. No word on specifics but Joe is assuming GMC will remain as an NFL GameDay Morning co-anchor.
Yesterday, GMC took to Twitter and noted his first assignment with BSPN will be this week at Bucs’ camp.
Everything is going great for GMC, right? Well, not exactly. GMC confessed when he goes to One Buc Palace, he is going to have to put on a happy face even though inside he’s steamed.
“My first assignment of the season is in Tampa, now I have to sit on camera and act like I’m not annoyed this is happening to us,” GMC said.
What is “this?” It’s the news that Bucs Pro Bowl defensive tackle Vita Vea demanded a trade from the Bucs, frustrated with stalled contract extension talks, if they’ve even gone down the track yet.
Joe gets why fans are upset. You never want to hear about one of your best players wanting out, for whatever reason. But the Joe typing here is confident this is a negotiating ploy.
Still, as Joe typed a couple of times in previous weeks, the sooner the Bucs extend Baker Mayfield, the countdown clock on Vea’s days with the Bucs will be set in motion. There’s only so much Team Glazer loot to go around.
Cody Mauch, YaYa Diaby, Antoine Winfield and Calijah Kancey will each be potential free agents by the time March 2028 rolls around.
Which one of those four, all under 28, would you sacrifice for Vea, who will turn 32 before the next Super Bowl is played?
My first assignment of the season is in Tampa, now I have to sit on camera and act like I’m not annoyed this is happening to us…….. pic.twitter.com/g2UbmBoyYF
— Gerald McCoy (@Geraldini93) July 27, 2026
July 28th, 2026 at 7:04 am
It would be great to get gmc’s perspective on this. He’s been there, done that.
July 28th, 2026 at 7:14 am
GMC having to deal with Suh all over again. He has to be thinking “oh heck, not this guy.”
July 28th, 2026 at 7:17 am
If he doesn’t want to be here, trade his ass.
July 28th, 2026 at 7:19 am
No doubt Vea’s is a great player. I am on the side if you want a trade then you don’t want to be here so trade him. Let’s bring this to the real world I understand NFL or pro sports is not the real world. Pretend for a minute if i don’t like the people I wirk with or the pay they are paying me which I agree to guess what I can quit and wait for it NOT GET PAID. Honor is a great character trait. Play this season get paid and leave. It’s not the hard to understand then best of luck to him he will land on his feet. See Mike Evans who we will miss.
July 28th, 2026 at 7:22 am
Well, looks like the Bucs are in quite a pickle.
July 28th, 2026 at 7:38 am
Could be a negotiation tactic, but these older Bucs players know they’ve got one contract left. Do you want to finish up with a Super Bowl ready team or take your chances with the Bucs who will most likely be average? For this organization, Vea will be long gone before the Bucs are SB ready again. The smartest decision for BOTH parties is probably move on. The Patriots have used this system and continue to be successful.
July 28th, 2026 at 7:42 am
I will gladly suit up, get my arse handed to me from now until January, and collect the league minimum.
July 28th, 2026 at 8:03 am
McCoy annoys me.
Players that whine about how many millions more they think they deserve annoy me.
The older I get, the less I care about this league.
ANY player that whines and cries and “demands” to be traded, im ok with them going to play somewhere else.
I like Vita, and hopefully the two sides work out a deal so we can retire a Buc. But if he truly wants to be paid like a top 5 DT, then JL would be doing this franchise a disservice by caving to his demands.
Vita peaked during the superbowl season. He’s a 31 yr old on the back end of his career. Still a really good player, but far from a dominant top 5 DT. And I expect his decline will come quickly in the next few years.
July 28th, 2026 at 8:45 am
All this hype and frustrations over money and contracts, upsetting the players and fan base mostly. I can’t imagine McCoy being really upset other than he will have something to talk about next to Suh.
July 28th, 2026 at 8:59 am
I tend to be a proponent of the ‘If you signed a contract, then honor that contract’ philosophy. Vea signed a 4-year $71 mil contract in 2023, with $33.9 mil guaranteed. He’s due to be a free agent in 2027 at age 32. If he was concerned about the amount of $$$ he’d be making in 2026, then all he had to do was build a 2026 out into the contract. But he didn’t do that; instead, he’s become ‘Mr Dissatisfied’ and is asking for a trade.
Bucs would be dumb to trade him IMO because that would torpedo our 2026 season. He’s the player in the middle of our defensive line that opposing OCs game-plan against. And for a good reason: he has the potential to wreck their game plan. I can’t think of any other Bucs’ DLineman who has even close to that same potential impact.
We all know the NFL is a business, but danged, too many of these older players have become prima donnas. They lasted as long as they did because they were good, some were great. Vea’s had an 8-year career, all with the Bucs, in which he’s played in 112 games (14 games/season average), gotten 35 sacks (about 4.5 sacks/season average) & 79 QB hits (about 10 QB hits/season average).
After his first 8 years, GMC had played in 109 games, gotten 48.5 sacks (6 sacks/season average) & 119 QB hits (about 15 QB hits/season average).
After his first 8 years, Sapp had played in 125 games, gotten 72 sacks (9 sacks/season average), but they didn’t keep track of QB hits back then.
All three … Sapp, GMC & Vea … were the lead dogs on our DLine during their time here. Sapp was ‘let go’ after the 2003 season when he was 31. GMC was ‘let go’ after the 2018 season when he turned 31. Vea just turned 31 this past February. Maybe he’s a history buff.
July 28th, 2026 at 9:19 am
Rats jump off sinking ships.
July 28th, 2026 at 9:23 am
Noble sentiment @DR,
Is Vea likely to be noble or enter the loafer HOF. NFL is brutal. Players are treated as property, but well paid. Teams have no loyalty and the players return the favor. We need to get what we can for Vita while we still can. It’s a fools bet to think he will be noble.
July 28th, 2026 at 9:41 am
Badbucs … It’s got nothing to do with ‘nobility’. It’s about Vea playing his best in 2026 to get the most money in his next contract … with the Bucs or with some other team. If he enters the ‘loafer’ category this year with the Bucs, he wouldn’t be worth diddly to any team next year.
July 28th, 2026 at 9:56 am
McCoy remains the highest paid Buc in history ( until if/when Mayfield gets an extension ). I’m not sure what he’s annoyed about. He did bite Matt Ryan’s ankle to close out a game once ( sorta ).
July 28th, 2026 at 9:57 am
Check that…Wirfs eclipsed him with his extension…but still.
July 28th, 2026 at 10:04 am
Torpedo our 2026 season? The Glazers did that when they kept Bowels. Buy Fat Boy a bus ticket and send him packing. He seems lazy as ……. and always out of shape. Surely there is a fatter Boy we can plug in in his place. Great player past his time, trade him for whatever you can get. And by the way, I don’t hate bowles its just time for a change.
July 28th, 2026 at 10:06 am
People are going to look awfully silly when Vita Vea shows up and participates.
July 28th, 2026 at 10:16 am
Defense Rules Says:
July 28th, 2026 at 8:59 am
I tend to be a proponent of the ‘If you signed a contract, then honor that contract’ philosophy.
Does this apply to baker?…he signed his contract too…so why is he asking for an extension?….he’s signed…he should shut his mouth and honor his contract and try to win a couple playoff games before asking for 50mil per year
GO BUCS!!!!
July 28th, 2026 at 10:18 am
Vita should be extended and baker should play it out…Vita is more accomplished and has brought this organization an SB!!!!!…Baker has much more to prove
GO BUCS!!!!
July 28th, 2026 at 11:01 am
Fanofdabucs
1. They could be injured at any time and career over.
2. The owners and league are making billions.
So I do not care one bit that they’re trying to get as much money as they can.
There should be some thought as to ensuring there’s enough to go around to be part of a great team that has a chance to win, but that is not the players responsibility
July 28th, 2026 at 11:44 am
Just did some quick digging, vv was ranked 20th dt per pff (I know some people don’t believe in it but I feel it’s a good measuring stick) his salary this year has him at 19th for his position. I mean idk if he’s expecting a raise but it seems his pay is matching or exceeding his performance. And imo even though he’s still a beast just hasn’t seemed like the same beast he was three four years ago
July 28th, 2026 at 11:53 am
Fanofdabucs you’re correct that Vea’s not a top 5 DT. We’ll agree there.
…but Vea *is* a top 10 DT and the nose tackle in a 3-4 defense. Him not being there is going to disrupt everything else on the line. You’re looking at zero pass rush if there’s no double team on the nose and, backside of 30 or not, Vea still commands a double team. What makes matters worse is that he’s being paid 18th in the league.
I’m not saying pay him like he’s top 5, but he’s getting stiffed at 18th best money. And if there’s still some interest after the signing and someone still wants to give up a 2nd and a 5th to get him, then we can cross that bridge when we come to it.
Part of me thinks the entire reason that Bowles still has a job after being so mediocre for so… d@mn… loooong… is because the team has been harboring the notion that they’re in a competitive rebuild rather than a full rebuild.
It’s time to pull the ripcord and acknowledge it’s time to rebuild from the ground up. Last year’s draft class might be a sufficient first step.
July 28th, 2026 at 12:11 pm
Don’t care about contracts, who’s making what. Tomorrow about 90 players will be on the field competing for 53 jobs, and some PS spots. By the first game we’ll have 53 players ready to go. Whether Vita Vea is one of them doesn’t matter to me. I’ll root for his replacement just the same. Ready for some football. The other stuff doesn’t concern me.
July 28th, 2026 at 1:32 pm
By announcing he wants a trade, Vea effective just drove down his trade value. If licht had any kind of read on the room he would have traded Vea and maximized his value. But, nope, licht is late to the ball and is stuck dancing with the leftovers.
I keep hearing on the Ira/Joes podcast how they feel Licht is golden if by no other virtue than his draft prowess. Then they go on to say how the team quit in 2025 debating whether or not it is on the individual (player) or the HC for the quit. To which I say, if the GM hired the coach and picked all 9f the players that quit, then isn’t the blame to be, at least, equally shared by the GM. To call Licht a great Gm is like saying a lotto winner is a great businessman
July 28th, 2026 at 3:24 pm
He’s still under contract end of story. Play the season out test free agency see what your really worth.