Vita Vea has stunned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by requesting a trade just six weeks before the new NFL season begins.
According to NFL insider Mike Garafolo, the Super Bowl-winning defensive tackle and the Bucs have failed to agree terms on a contract extension.
A first-round draft pick in 2018, Vea has now put rival teams on red alert for a blockbuster move.
The two-time Pro Bowl selection is set to earn $18 million this season, the final year of his existing four-year deal.
Amid the contract standoff, Vea didn’t take part in the Bucs’ spring program but is expected to be in attendance at training camp when it opens on Tuesday. It’s unclear whether he will suit up.
Before last season, Bucs coach Todd Bowles claimed ‘there’s nobody like’ Vea. But now he’s facing up to the prospect of losing him entirely.
Vita Vea has stunned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by requesting to be traded away
The two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle and the Bucs have not agreed on a contract extension
The 6ft 4ins, 347-pound Vea has been at the heart of the Bucs defense ever since they drafted him out of Washington in 2018.
He helped Tom Brady and the Bucs win the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021, when they prevailed 31-9 at their own Raymond James Stadium.
It comes with the Bucs also trying to reach a deal on a contract extension with starting quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield is in the final year of his contract with Tampa Bay, the team with which he experienced a career resurgence after rough stints with the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams.
While the Buccaneers are in ‘no rush’ to extend Mayfield, according to NBC Sports, the quarterback set a deadline to get a deal put together before the start of training camp.
