Todd Bowles On Trading Vita Vea
July 30th, 2026
Staying put?
That explosion you heard this week wasn’t from your neighbor eating bad lettuce. It was one of the bigger bombshells to go off at One Buc Palace in quite a while.
Pro Bowl tackle Vita Vea demanded a trade.
Vea wants out because his efforts to either get a new contract or a contract extension have gone nowhere. Vea is in the final year of his four-year deal.
As a result, Vea is holding-in nursing a tweaked back at training camp.
Bucs coach Todd Bowles was asked about the possibility of trading Vea. Bowles said that subject has never come up at One Buc Palace.
“We have not even discussed it,” Bowles said about meetings with Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Licht.
BSPN’s Jeremy Fowler typed this week that the NFL suits he has reached out to told him they don’t believe Licht would raffle off Vea. Those guys know Licht better than most. And former Bears scouting director Greg Gabriel chimed in on Twitter, saying that, of late, veterans over 30 who demand a trade, of late, “few” are actually traded.
Vea is 31.
Now that doesn’t mean Vea won’t be shipped out of town. But it seems some tea leaves suggest Vea remains in Tampa at least through this season.
As both Joes clearly stated on the latest Ira Kaufman Podcast. Trade Vea. The time sure seems right, considering his attitude and the state of the team.
Tags: ta
July 30th, 2026 at 7:10 am
I would have to believe if there were any offers for Vea Licht has already heard them. Unless someone makes an offer they can’t refuse, the Bucs aren’t going to trade him. They’ll get a comp pick if he walks next season anyway. How about adding a million dollar a sack bonus to his current deal? Get ten sacks, that bonus would put him in the top tear of DTs. Win for him, win for the Bucs.
July 30th, 2026 at 7:14 am
The Bucs will not trade Vea…they will eventually give him a raise on a short term extension. Vea doesn’t have an attitude- he wants to be paid market money for his position and is using the only real leverage he has.
The Bucs will be re-tooling either next year or in 2-3 years, but this season they are focused on having a winning season and trading an excellent DT for a 3rd round pick is asking to be fired (Licht and Bowles).
July 30th, 2026 at 7:48 am
Jalen Carter just did a new deal at 38 Mil per year
Vita Vea has better stats than Carter over the last 3 seasons
So just pay the manbeast-Do you see now?
July 30th, 2026 at 7:57 am
todd bowles will get him and baker hurt in training camp as he has a history of getting more players hurt than any other coach in training camp
July 30th, 2026 at 8:01 am
“As both Joes clearly stated. . . Trade Vea. The time sure seems right, considering his attitude and the state of the team.”
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THAT is the silliest thing you ever said Joe. And to ALL OF YOU WHO SAY TRADE VV, Vita Vea is not just the key to Todd’s D, VV is the MASTER KEY.
No way Todd allows VV to get traded. Vita draws so many double teams, it leaves others on the DL with single match ups. So, for 2026, this is a HIGHLY important criteria. Single Bain and Yaya and Kancy, ok! Lets see how that works.
2025 Double-Team Leaders (Total Count):
#1 Dexter Lawrence: 246 double teams faced
#2 Vita Vea: 241 double teams faced
#3 Leonard Williams: 223 double teams faced
Vita Vea ranked 2nd in the NFL for total quarterback pressures generated specifically from the nose tackle position during the 2025 season. He trailed only Dexter Lawrence in total interior disruption from the 0/1-technique alignments. sacks
As you said Joe, based on the above, Vita Vea is grossly under paid.
July 30th, 2026 at 8:09 am
Todd … Jalen Carter making $38 mil under a NEW contract doesn’t really relate to Vita Vea operating under an OLD contract for roughly $18 mil per year. Just because the Eagles are stupid, doesn’t mean the Bucs have to follow.
Jason Licht & Todd Bowles can say what they want about Vea not being a distraction, but what Vea is doing isn’t helping the team. Like Chris Godwin said in yesterday’s article “We talk in the locker room. Guys aren’t oblivious as to what’s going on.”
A contract is a contract; don’t sign it if you don’t feel it’ll be paying you enough in the 4th year. Or build in some type of ‘escape clause’; players (and teams) do that all the time.
July 30th, 2026 at 8:09 am
@Senor Harry I remain convinced that a lot of the posters (and maybe some of the Joes) in favor of trading Vea and who are really Anti-Bowles know that trading Vea would hinder Bowles’ chance of success.
July 30th, 2026 at 8:12 am
Honestly, Vea’s ” attitude ” is certainly understandable. He wanted his last decentt bag and they have plans to nickel and dime him on a year to year bases.
That’s going to bother him greatly. Considering the whole “poking the pyromaniac” and carrying on as though there wasn’t a GIANT shake up just 6 months or so ago, “could well” be a mistake
We’re just leaving FAR TOO MANY of the Team Leading Vets standing ” Alone at the Alter ” so to speak.
It Really Does feel like we could be playing chicken with Mt. Suvious (sp). All you need to do to get a feel for how that went is to ask Any of the citizens from Pompeii how they feel about going up against an erupting Volcano!
That’s kinda how if feels like concerning our “players” points of view and ultimate feelings on the matter. THE NEXT GEN IS WATCHING JUST HOW WE TREAT OUR VETS and IT WILL MATTER eventually.
July 30th, 2026 at 8:14 am
THANK YOU @Senor Harry in Costa Rica
this BS about Vita having an “attitude” is nonsense
PAY THE MAN NOW!!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
July 30th, 2026 at 8:25 am
Todd Says:
July 30th, 2026 at 7:48 am
Jalen Carter just did a new deal at 38 Mil per year
Vita Vea has better stats than Carter over the last 3 seasons
So just pay the manbeast-Do you see now?
_______________________
Carter’s also SIX years younger than Vea. That’s a lot to pay a guy who is that much older. The same argument could be made for both of them: “what happens if they go out and get injured tomorrow — that’s wasted money,” but the argument is much more legitimate for a guy on the wrong side of 30 than on the right side of it. The odds of a 31 year old getting injured are simply higher, and the fact that they’re higher mans there’s a better chance that the money would be wasted.
July 30th, 2026 at 8:36 am
@Senor Harry
Don’t stop there
“Vita Vea in 2025, per @NextGenStats:
-241 double-teams faced (2nd in NFL)
-14 pressures after double team (6th in NFL)
– 40 total pressures (T-9th among DT)”
Also for all the talk of Vitas’ age, you’ve got guys like Leonard Williams, Poona Ford, Cam Heyward, DeForest Buckner, & Chris Jones all past 30 and some of these dudes are playing some of the best football of their careers.
We’ve seen Vita commit to changing his body, which partly helped him play more and *knocks on wood* he hasn’t had to undergo any type of surgical procedure to fix anything on him since a hand procedure back in 2020.
Vea with as clean a bill of health as any player on this team over the last 4-5 years, probably has at least 2-3 years of good-great football in’em. Don’t give me that age stuff with him, all it’s going to do is give him old man strength.
July 30th, 2026 at 8:52 am
Defense Rules … “Jason Licht & Todd Bowles can say what they want about Vea not being a distraction, but what Vea is doing isn’t helping the team.”
Correct. And as for the accurate assessment from many who believe the defense was too soft, capitulation to this sort of public rebuke from Vea undermines efforts to toughen things.
You want to remind players about standards and expectations? Make an example out of unacceptable behavior. The place for heated disagreement is in private. Vea could just as well have said this same thing in private. Saying it publicly hurts the team. Unacceptable.
Trade.
July 30th, 2026 at 8:53 am
Jordan Davis is currently the highest paid NT in the NFL – he signed a 3 year $78M deal with $65M guaranteed.
That is @ $26M per…
Give Vea a bonus of @ $6M or so and let’s move on with this 7-10 season.
July 30th, 2026 at 8:58 am
Really depends on what is offered….
July 30th, 2026 at 9:00 am
Sorry folks but we run a 3-4 and Vea is our starting NT…
He IS NOT a starting DE or DT.
July 30th, 2026 at 9:01 am
You guys are talking about 25 year olds comparing them to a 31 year old it’s not the same he may be slightly underpaid but not by much make him play out his contract then move on with a replacement you don’t have yet.
July 30th, 2026 at 9:06 am
Marine Buc, I think Jordan Davis is around 26 years old? Huge difference.
July 30th, 2026 at 9:08 am
We will know by the trade deadline on how valuable he is with our record. If a 2nd rounder or 3rd is there and we suck absolutely do it.
July 30th, 2026 at 9:28 am
DR-
All contracts have leveraged outcomes, thanks to Lawyers.
July 30th, 2026 at 9:53 am
@ Bonzai
I agree.
I’m not suggesting the Bucs should give Vea the contract as Davis.
I am merely suggesting they give Vea a one year $23.5M deal fully guaranteed.
That would give him a nice raise for 2026 and make him the 2nd highest paid NT in the NFL.
July 30th, 2026 at 10:09 am
Any player that has “requested” a trade needs to be traded especially if there’s outside influence other than a player’s agent.Hes disgruntled. Now ” tweaked ” he’s a cancer now..Sorry bout you luck but he’s gotta go..Time to take the
..Evans Express..