Bucs have another contract issue they’re going to have to deal with, and it’s a big one
The Bucs have work to do to keep a big part of their defense happy in 2026, and in town beyond that.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need a big turnaround from their defense in 2026 after a rough second half of the 2025 season. A 2-7 finish was in no small part to a defense that struggled to generate pressure and cover downfield.
The outlook should be brighter next season for Todd Bowles’ unit, even with the departure of some key pieces in franchise legend Lavonte David and Jamel Dean. Rookie EDGE Rueben Bain, Jr. and Al-Quadin Muhammad should give some juice to the pass rush, as well as 2025 fourth-round pick David Walker, who missed last season with a knee injury. Alex Anzalone provides a big boost in coverage in the middle of the field. A’Shawn Robinson gives Tampa Bay a physical presence in the middle.
However, an important part of the Bucs’ defense doesn’t appear to be all that happy at this point. According to NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo, DT Vita Vea is not practicing at minicamp this week due to issues relating to his contract.
Vita Vea’s lack of participation at Bucs’ minicamp is money related, per NFL insider
“The top of that defensive tackle market is now into the thirties (millions) if you include Chris Jones,” Garafolo said. “You’ve got Jordan Davis up there at 26, somebody else is up there, Dexter Lawrence at 28. So, this is well above where Vea is in the last year of his contract, which was signed over four years ago. So that’s what happens. The market has now gone up significantly.
“He did not participate. Todd Bowles was asked about it, he said, look, it’s a non-contact practice in June, we don’t need Vea. He also said that he’s not injured. My understanding is the contract is playing into this. Now, we don’t know for sure about every OTA, so I don’t know if he’s been there for any of them, but it seems like the ones that have been open to the media, he hasn’t been there.
“Again, from my understanding, sources have told me that the fact that he’s in the final year of his deal, hasn’t gotten an extension to this point is part of the reason that he is not participating.”
Vea is in the final year of a four-year contract extension he signed in January 2022, and the market has certainly changed since then, as Garafolo pointed out. Vea’s base salary for 2026 is $17 million. That’s just over half what the top of the market is making right now, with Jones over $31 million. Per Spotrac, Vea sits at No. 21 among their interior defensive linemen in contract AAV.
Would a raise, but one well below the top of the market, get a deal done?
It’ll be interesting to see how things progress, because it’s hard to envision a world where Jason Licht ponies up money in that kind of ballpark for Vea. 2025 was a solid year, akin to his 2024 Pro Bowl year. He totaled 4.5 sacks, a drop from 7.0, but he still totaled 51 QB pressures according to Pro Football Focus. The Bucs have needed that interior pressure, particularly with its edge rushing presence on a milk carton for much of the 2025 season.
While an upper-market deal seems unlikely, a modest bump of some type would be a more reasonable middle ground. Is there room for common ground here? Bucs fans hoping for a better 2026 certainly hope so.