Vita Vea may have played his final snap as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. The veteran defensive tackle has reportedly requested a trade from the organization after negotiations over a new contract stalled, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Vea, 31, is in the final season of a four-year, $71 million contract he signed with the Buccaneers in 2022. With free agency looming, Vea was hoping to lock down a new deal to remain in Tampa Bay ahead of training camp, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement, culminating in the trade request.
Vea has played his entire eight-year career with the Bucs. He’s made two Pro Bowls and appeared in 112 games since being drafted in the first round in 2018. One of the league’s top defensive tackles, there would likely be a handful of teams eager to acquire Vea if the Buccaneers oblige his trade request. According to Ted Nguyen of The Athletic, Vea would prefer to be dealt to a team in his home state of California, or would be open to joining the Raiders.
Of course, without a no-trade clause, the Buccaneers are under no obligation to facilitate a trade to one of those California-based teams. But those franchises, as well as the Raiders, seemingly stand the best chance at keeping Vea long-term on a new contract if he does get dealt.
We’re going to dive into three possible trade destinations for Vea as training camp gets underway.
Las Vegas Raiders
Despite investing heavily into its defense in free agency, in addition to welcoming Maxx Crosby back after the agreed-upon trade with the Ravens fell through, the Raiders could use an upgrade at nose tackle. As it stands, veteran DT Adam Butler is in line to start the season as their top option, but Vea would be a clear upgrade.
Las Vegas has just over $14 million in cap space, so they’d need to shed some salary if they were to bring Vea aboard, especially if they intend to sign him to a long-term deal. Vea is set to make $18 million in ’26 before becoming an unrestricted free agent next offseason, so perhaps the Raiders would be able to work out a restructured deal to lower his cap hit for the ’26 season, while also netting him the long-term deal he covets. GM John Spytek is plenty familiar with Vea from their days working together with the Buccaneers, so he may be intrigued by the prospect of further bolstering Las Vegas’s defense with the two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle.
San Francisco 49ers
A deal with the 49ers would enable Vea to play in his home state while significantly improving San Francisco’s defensive line. The 49ers’ D-line was ravaged by injuries last season, and starting nose tackle Alfred Collins is set to open training camp on PUP while recovering from a shoulder injury. San Francisco has the most cap space of any team in the NFL at present ($71 million), so they could afford to take on Vea’s $18 million contract and potentially work out a long-term extension, too. Vea would add some needed firepower to the trenches for the 49ers, and he could form a formidable partnership on the line with Nick Bosa, who will be back in the mix after missing all but three games last season.
Chicago Bears
The Bears’ run defense needs an upgrade after surrendering the sixth-most rushing yards per game (134.5) last season. The team could look to upgrade over Grady Jarrett at defensive tackle by bringing aboard Vea. However, they’d have some financial maneuvering to get a deal done with Vea with only $8 million in cap space remaining. Chicago’s defensive line struggled in both pass rush win rate (29%, 31st in the NFL) and run stop win rate (29%, 26th in the NFL) last season, per ESPN, and Vea would help in both areas. He had 4.5 sacks last season to go with seven tackles for loss and 34 total tackles. It will be difficult for the Bears to make the money work, but this is a team that’s eager to compete for a championship, and Vea would address their most glaring need.
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