Todd Bowles Blame Is Spreading
July 27th, 2026
Legendary Bucs nose tackle Vita Vea wants a new team, a new address.
He has asked for a trade, it was reported today.
The news caused a social media eruption with daggers of blame being thrown at Todd Bowles.
Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht has taken darts, too, but Vea’s request clearly has triggered temporarily pent up Bowles rage.
Somehow, Vea wanting more money is Bowles’ fault. Joe can’t believe how stupid that sounds.
Joe is quite sure Bowles would have been happy to pay Vea what he’s seeking in a contract extension or close to it. Hey, it’s not Bowles’ money. And why exactly would Bowles care about kicking salary cap room down the road to result in, say, a nasty debt burden in 2029?
Vea wanting to leave is not on Bowles. It’s on a combination of Vea’s greed and the Bucs’ front office planning. And Joe can’t call the latter poor without knowing what kind of money Vea is seeking.
Sure, one could argue Vea wants to play on a better defense and for a coach more likely to win a Super Bowl. But if that was really Vea’s desire, then he could have (should have?) requested a trade before April’s NFL draft.
Anybody with a brain advising Vea would have told him that timing would have been his surest way out of Tampa.
Up next? Bowles getting blamed for Lavonte David’s retirement and Mike Evans’ mysterious desire to play for about half of what Tampa Bay offered him with a quarterback known for shaky deep ball.
There’s plenty to blame on Bowles without pulling nonsense out of the sky.
Fans can start with Bowles picking the wrong offensive coordinator, defensive line coach and special teams coach for last season, along with his Bucs not responding following 10 days after Bowles’ historic and public December tirade. And throw in Bowles thinking SirVocea Dennis and Haason Reddick were ballers, among other things.
July 27th, 2026 at 9:51 pm
You can’t keep everybody. Even Warren Sapp and John Lynch left. If trading Vea for a bunch of picks allows the other guys to be signed, then so be it. It won’t be fun, but it is life in the NFL.
That said, Vea made 18 million the past season. 18 million dollars!? I’d be set for life if I played just one year for that amount. It is staggering how elitist these guys have become.
July 27th, 2026 at 9:55 pm
Players ask for trades all the time, it’s nothing new. Vita wants to cash in before he retires. If I was Jason Licht I would grant Vita’s request and trade him out of conference.
July 27th, 2026 at 9:56 pm
But I thought everyone was dying to get a chance to play with Baker. Did you know he has the highest passer rating in NFL playoff history! Also he was the league MVP last week after week 6! Everyone is beating down the Bucs door for a chance to play with him!
July 27th, 2026 at 10:03 pm
100% this is on Jason Licht. Todd doesn’t handle contracts. Licht is done here.
-David
July 27th, 2026 at 10:05 pm
I said a month ago or more to give Vita an extension – OR trade him. Do not choose the option of seeing how it goes. If you trade him now, I think you could legit get a 2nd out of a team like Buffalo. It’s not like Bowles is going to use Vita well in any case, not when he plays that garbage super soft zone that always gives QBs wide open WRs all over the field. And no, I don’t really care if the Bucs are great at stopping the run, if that was to happen again, teams will just do what they did in the past when the Bucs were a top run stuffing team – they’ll just throw it and move the ball at will.
However, and this is a huge IF, but if Bowles is going to finally go back to playing man, or at the very least just play a tighter zone, then resign Vita. He’s going to be a top player for at least a couple of more years, and then after that he’ll probably still be a very good player for another year or two. He’s not a guy who is breaking down – he played a higher snap percentage last year than any year in his career – and it’s been increasing each year for years. If he loses a step in the next couple of years, he’s got an easy solution – to just drop weight to get his speed back. He’s almost certainly playing around 380lbs – if he just got back to his combine weight of 350lb, or just a Suh sized 330lb, he’d gain speed and I don’t think for a second it would hurt his run stuffing ability. However, if I’m wrong, you got another easy solution – pump him with lard until he’s up over 400lbs, and make him a 2-down immovable object that just completely plugs up the middle. He’s a valuable player either way.
To me, Vita is deserving of a new deal well before Baker is. While DT is obviously nowhere near as important as QB, Vita has been a very consistent player for years and very good at what he does. Baker, meanwhile, has been inconsistent and is coming off a bad year where he got his offensive staff fired. No reason to reward Baker when you can play out his deal and franchise him if he bounces back. Meanwhile, you’re not going to franchise Vita – so make a deal with him, or trade him. Pick one of the two, do not do nothing.
July 27th, 2026 at 10:07 pm
I thought Bowles was a players coach. Why are guys wanting out? Why are players quitting mid season?
This organization is a dumpster fire. Only Tom Brady could make it work for 2 years. The other 15 have been a joke.
If Jason and Todd have a future in Tampa, the Bucs don’t.
July 27th, 2026 at 10:08 pm
It is the true definition of (Insert name) Derangement Syndrome. And while they are a plague, unfortunately they are a plague that is somewhat sentient. And whether it’s because they feel they are being “edgy”, sarcastic or actually feel this way, Bowels – who deserves a whole lot more respect than he’s given – will always a punching bag for ANYTHING that happens with the Bucs. Because if you think he only comes up when things are wrong then y’all are in for a treat when/if Baker gets his extension and someone who probably credits themselves a ‘free thinker’ comments “Now if only Baker can cover receivers 20 yards down field” or something else stupid.
July 27th, 2026 at 10:10 pm
Vita > Baker
Vita is a winner and a rare commodity. Look at Bowles defense, how is it using him to his strengths or anyones strengths for that matter. Players that want to win are tired of the clown show. They’re tired of the bad on and off the field decisions from the “leaders” of this team.
Its not Bowles fault Vita wants money he deserve. Hes been playing at a high level for a long time and restructured in the past to help the team.
Notice the players that want to win either left the Bucs or are asking for a trade.
July 27th, 2026 at 10:12 pm
Good to see you’re feeling better, Munch.
July 27th, 2026 at 10:13 pm
If we’re being honest Bowles going to lose with or without Vita. Let’s not forget this the guy that lost the last 7 out of 9 games.
July 27th, 2026 at 10:20 pm
These guys see the writing on the wall. These vets in their final years know this
Team is on a downward trend and unlikely to be a playoff contender come January.
It could be am ugly season and a reset for 2027. The saints and Panthers both
Got better. We re headed in the wrong direction and putting way too much pressure
On Ruben Bain in his first year..
July 27th, 2026 at 10:26 pm
Oh here we go with Financial advisor Suh.
July 27th, 2026 at 10:28 pm
There’s a lot more going on here.
Licht is the only GM in history to return every starter after winning a Super Bowl.
>It wasn’t supposed to be possible.
>No one complained.
>No one asked for a trade.
>Everyone returned.
This off season, Mike Evans left for LESS MONEY! VV demands a trade. They are playing games with Baker.
Read between the lines. It’s not that hard to see what’s going on.
July 27th, 2026 at 10:54 pm
Those with BDS (Bowles Derangement Syndrome) may believe Bowles is responsible for climate change and the Iran War as well.
Vea is on the wrong side of 30 and this is really his best opportunity for one last big contract. This is nothing to do with Bowles. It’s business. It’s pretty rare for a player like Lavonte David to play his entire career with one team. Bowles and Licht love Vea, but to give him a long term contract at his age that he’s wanting is taking a big risk.