Vita Vea Needs To Earn His Money
September 13th, 2026
Joe still remembers how Bucs defensive tackle Vita Vea asked to be traded, refused to practice and threatened to mess up the Bucs’ season because he didn’t want to play for the $18 million he agreed to accept.
At One Buc Palace, that was cool. Todd Bowles was fine with it. Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht ultimately even gave Vea a 33 percent raise for the 2026 season and a new deal for 2027 — rather than, say, sign an extra experienced corner for this season.
It’s just business, they said.
Well, those guys are all crazy wealthy dudes living in a universe far different the one Joe lives in with the regular people. Vea’s shenanigans were understandable to a degree, and congrats to him, but they still left a terrible taste in a lot of fans’ mouths.
Joe hopes Vea has been inspired by the whole situation to have his greatest season — starting today. For those who re-watch and scrutinize games like Joe does, Vea didn’t exactly close last season playing his best football. Joe wouldn’t label Vea as part of “the problem,” but he wasn’t taking over against poor teams down the stretch.
Can Vea wreck today’s game? He’s certainly capable. And the Bucs are paying him to do that — just like the Bengals invested even more money and draft capital on stud DT Dexter Lawrence.
September 13th, 2026 at 8:48 am
Needs to earn his money?
He was the only man on that defense that commanded attention last year. Saying he needs to earn it now is laughable
September 13th, 2026 at 8:49 am
Him and fragile Frankie Cancey better blow up the middle of the O-line….all day!! Let’s Go boys!!
September 13th, 2026 at 8:54 am
Speaking of holdout(in)/contract squabbles and mysterious back injuries….
Joey Porter Jr. ain’t got his new contract yet and most likely won’t play today with that bugaboo of a “back” injury
That seems to be the new holdout injury. It’s harder to question or diagnose and is more finicky and harder to disprove than other injuries.
And as we know. New contracts with more money are an instant healer and a great remedy to an ailing back!
September 13th, 2026 at 9:03 am
VV has earned it every year.
September 13th, 2026 at 9:11 am
That “convenient back injury” stuff will come back to bite ya in the end.
September 13th, 2026 at 9:24 am
With or without Vita, the Bucs are the greatest!
Bucs 39 Bengals 5
September 13th, 2026 at 9:27 am
Ken still remembers how Bucs GM ignored Vita Vea, asked him to accept being underpaid, refused to discuss his contract and threatened to mess up the Bucs’ season because he didn’t want to pay more than the $18 million that was far below Vea’s market.
Take that, Corporate Lap Dog Joe
September 13th, 2026 at 9:31 am
All the talk is over its time for action for all these players that like to say they want to do this and that show me
September 13th, 2026 at 9:39 am
I’m still trying to figure out how an average qb like baker earned his contract, oh yeah and incompetent front office.
September 13th, 2026 at 9:47 am
Todd Bowles needs to earn his money
September 13th, 2026 at 9:52 am
Superbowl Champ needs to earn their paycheck, but the choker at QB can do no wrong. Eyes roll.
September 13th, 2026 at 10:02 am
In Baker We Trust.
Dude earned that contract. Top 10 QB in the NFL.
September 13th, 2026 at 10:05 am
Have any of you who are hating on Baker actually watched the QB series on Netflix? The guy was walking wounded for most of the entire year. He should have sat down. He was clearly hurt, and it showed.
Being tough and playing through injuries is great and all, but if you’re not yourself—meaning you’re not healthy and therefore not playing at your best—then what’s the point? Sit down and let the backup play.
Oh, wait Teddy Bridgewater shouldn’t have been on the roster….
September 13th, 2026 at 10:11 am
bucs should trade for joey porter jr.
September 13th, 2026 at 10:20 am
Love VV. Joe still has a valid point that is applicable to both VV & Baker. There is only so much cap room. Will the sacrifice of an experienced CB (and/or quality OL backup) prevent overall team success winning football games?
No one knows yet. I agree with both decisions, however, and would take VV/Baker over > replacements plus an experienced CB/backup OL. Pretty easy call IMHO.
However, if injuries beset one or both units (or even VV/Baker themselves), and the wheels fall off…say, during playoff run [again!]; then neither can lament the circumstances.
September 13th, 2026 at 10:27 am
VV absolutely schooled the ring of fire GM. Sit out/pout…get topped off for doing so. He’s fully guaranteed for the next 2 years. Will he be motivated at all? We are about to find out.
September 13th, 2026 at 10:40 am
Vea has produced, so if the purpose of his hold-in was to be compensated for what he has and will continue to deliver I think it will be fine. I do understand the concern of players slacking off once they get the big pay day. The trend is real and well documented.
September 13th, 2026 at 10:47 am
Vita is a pillar/ of this team, the money was acknowledgement of that fact, not a “prove it” type of deal. We know who Vita is, what he brings to the table and how that affects the 21 people that shares the field with him. Big man is now actually being paid like he weighs.
September 13th, 2026 at 10:54 am
Joe would rather have an experienced corner than Vita? Eyes rolling, my friend. You don’t have to be a contrarian all the time.
C’mon, man. Nothing comes close to saying that here. Safe bet Vea wasn’t going to cough up game checks this season. … … And Joe would have been happy to push Vea’s money into a future year. Bucs could have used his RAISE on a player that could push them over the top in 2026.–Joe
September 13th, 2026 at 10:58 am
VV had not training camp. Do we expect him to be in top form? Stamina is a huge question mark for me but am hopefuls for the best.
September 13th, 2026 at 11:07 am
Well if nothing else, if he sucks, the Bucs can use this as example w anyone who tries it again
September 13th, 2026 at 11:08 am
Yep. He can’t be lazy. He’s not a blocker.
September 13th, 2026 at 11:08 am
“Saying he needs to earn it now is laughable.”
Then start laughing. Joe is right.
September 13th, 2026 at 11:11 am
They all need to earn their money!
September 13th, 2026 at 11:16 am
He’s post-peak and now he has no incentive to play hard and hurt himself.
September 13th, 2026 at 11:19 am
Typically older players that hold out of train8ng camp, end up with a major injury in the first 4 games
September 13th, 2026 at 11:21 am
To be perfectly honest, I don’t think it WAS as much about the money as I was about “if you’re expecting me to waste my few years and NOT be in contention for a Super Bowl ring, THEN YOU’LL HAVE TO PAY ME TO STAY!” I want OUT otherwise!
bowles…. LOST THE TEAM a few months ago.. And for the “brain impaired” There IS A REASON why the BEST CORNER on the team WAS WILLING TO BUY HIS CONTRACT OUT (for a pennies on the dollar for his work) IN ORDER TO LEAVE for a FAR BETTER situation! You people Don’t think that THAT’S AN EYE OPENER???
There IS A REASON that “YOUR” One of a Kind, hall of fame receiver TOOK PEANUTS to get the h3!! AWAY FROM bowles! And SO MANY MORE examples of last seasons CLOWN SHOW! And that Continued right along when BOZO came bouncing back through the freaking door!
Can you even imagine what the players faces must have looked like (that are left) when the heard that the Seriously Confused glazers brought the Clown Show back? Is there Really ANY WONDER WHY VEA HAD, HAD ENOUGH “OR PAY ME A RANSOM!!!” There is No mystery here at alllllll…..
There IS A REASON that the ENTIRE TEAM refused to Listen to much the less WORK FOR todd bowles!
It WASN’T the glazers. It WASN’T the GM. It WAS ALL ON ONE GUY WHO THEY REFUSED TO “PLAY BALL” FOR!
I have No Clue as to what the glazers are doing! They look like idiots! The glazers need to ask “THEMSELVES”, well… ARE WE IN OR ARE WE OUT BECAUSE THEY AREN’T MAKING ANY SENSE WITH THE MOVES THEY’VE MADE! Ridiculous..
September 13th, 2026 at 11:22 am
Does Licht pay Todd in Kit-Kats?
September 13th, 2026 at 11:25 am
We will regret for not trading him.
September 13th, 2026 at 11:26 am
The glazers didn’t even DEMAND that bozo hire an ACTUAL Defensive Coordinator..
Just DUMB!
September 13th, 2026 at 11:31 am
Vea already earned his money. There are far more players that need to be held under a microscope being paid more that actually do need to earn their money. I wont say who since you should already know.
September 13th, 2026 at 11:39 am
When you start losing, losing begets more losing. This is how the Bucs 2025 season regressed.
Vita was given a big fat new contract in 2026. Within that new contract is implied that Vita stop the run up the middle abd make the quarterbacks feel very pressured in the backfield.
Vita needs to live up to this new contract. If he does the Bucs could be playing deep into the playoffs. GO BUCS
September 13th, 2026 at 11:46 am
Yea. It did bother me. Let’s see how it goes.
September 13th, 2026 at 11:50 am
Does Vita not earn his pay each snap? He takes on double teams nearly every one of those snaps. When we had edge rushers in the past, it was his dominance that made life easy for them( Shaq, JPP) to get to the QB. The drought of edge rushers has hopefully come to an end and we can watch Vita eat again
September 13th, 2026 at 11:54 am
Double V is the least of this team worries.
Biggest bucs concern today is Joe burrow.
September 13th, 2026 at 12:09 pm
Come for the articles as I love hearing from the joes who are plugged in with the franchise but man these comment forums are getting toxic. Literally we all root for the same team and somehow taking shots at each other constantly
September 13th, 2026 at 12:13 pm
A trade was my preference after he pulled the trade request BS (and denied it later)
That’s just lil’ biotch behavior.
September 13th, 2026 at 12:21 pm
“Bucs could have used his RAISE on a player that could push them over the top in 2026.–Joe“
And just who is that player?
It’s not enough to t the row that chum out there. You are an insider. Tell us WHO they could have gotten with the money they paid to Vea?
Who?
Otherwise it’s just shooting from the lips.
September 13th, 2026 at 12:34 pm
I am just glad Vita’s 33% raise helped his back heal quickly.
September 13th, 2026 at 12:35 pm
I’m a little surprised people are triggered by Vea’s hold-in. He deserved to be paid more and it was the last year of his deal. I’m not a big fan of the gobs of money these guys get paid, but this is how things are in the NFL. I can’t fault him for doing business the way it’s done all over the league.
September 13th, 2026 at 12:38 pm
Also, Vea isn’t the only one who needs to earn his money. There’s a number of guys who didn’t live up to their salaries last year
September 13th, 2026 at 12:59 pm
Kidfloflo … ‘Him (Vea) and fragile Frankie Cancey better blow up the middle of the O-line….all day!!’
If Bowles sticks with a 2-man interior DLine (Vea & Kancey) instead of a 3-man DLine (Vea, Robinson & Kancey) we’ll lose. A’Shawn is the guy who’ll make a world of difference in this defense.
Bucs beefed up our DLine big-time for a reason: we were too light last season & got our a$$e$ kicked as a result. I’m convinced that our Run Defense wasn’t nearly as good as many think it was. We gave up a ton of explosive run plays last year, far more than in any year Bowles has been our DC. Well, runners have to make it through the DLine & OLBs for it to become an explosive play. We ‘only’ gave up 1643 rushing yds, last season, to rank #5 in the NFL, but that’s tremendously misleading since opponents only ran on us 396 times, to rank #2 (next to Least) in the NFL.
Look though at the ‘rest of the story’ as Paul Harvey used to say.
o Bucs’ defense gave up 4.3 YPC average last year, to rank #14.
o Bucs’ defense gave up 16 rushing TDs, to rank #16. That’s the MOST Rushing TDs (by far) that any Bowles’ defense has given up since he’s been here as Bucs’ DC.
o Bucs’ gave up 69.8% TDs in the Red Zone last season (30 TDs scored out of 43 Red Zone incursions). From what I can tell, 10 of those 30 TDs were rushing TDs. Our supposed strength, and we couldn’t stop them.
Everyone but Kancey on our DLine now weighs north of 300 lbs (read the other day that Roberts, who had weighed 295 last season, put on 10 lbs this off-season). So now we’ve to Vea (347), Robinson (320), RNR (305), Simmons (335), Capehart (315), Roberts (305) and Kancey (280). No one will be asking ‘Where’s the Beef?’ this year.