The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had Monday off from training camp practices, but the Vita Vea contract situation just got more complicated and that’s because, per reports, the Dallas Cowboys signed star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to a 3-year, $105.9 million extension.

It’s an AAV that comes out to roughly $35.3 million per year, and the deal will likely send a ripple straight through the Buccaneers’ ongoing negotiations with their own Pro Bowl interior lineman.

Vea has been looking for Chris Jones/Jeffery Simmons-type money throughout this hold-in. Now he has even more reason to want what he thinks is due, or even more, after Williams’ deal.

However, here’s the problem for the Buccaneers and Vea finding common ground.

Williams is three years younger than Vea at 28 years old. He was drafted in 2019, one year after Vea, but due to how things work out sometimes age-wise, he is a few years younger than Vea was at the time of his own draft selection. Williams also doesn’t carry a significant injury history. Even though Vea’s injury concerns are a bit overblown these days, they still exist.

To add more to the point: Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles even said the Buccaneers have been fine without Vea when he’s had to miss games because of injury. So even though Bowles framed that as a positive for the team’s depth, he knows Vea has had stretches where he simply hasn’t been available.

Williams’ resume makes the comparison tough for Vea, though

One could argue Williams is a better player overall. He has more career sacks (41.5) than Vea (35.0) despite being younger, which naturally makes his ceiling higher. He’s also a better run defender and commands just as many double teams as Vea does. Those factors matter when you’re trying to use another player’s deal as a comparable in negotiations.

Each new defensive tackle contract that raises the bar makes the chances of the Buccaneers and Vea staying together for the long term lower — and the Buccaneers are going to have a hard time justifying Williams-level money for Vea, given the age gap, the injury history (even if it’s overstated), and the production difference.

So what happens from here?

Vea is going to play at some point this year. We don’t know when, and it will probably be sooner rather than later. His contract situation makes a full-season holdout impractical. If Vea sits out the entire 2026 season, his deal simply rolls over into 2027, and he’ll find himself in the exact same position he’s in right now, only a year older. That’s not leverage. That’s just lost time.

However, if he’s looking at Chris Jones/Big Jeff-type money, which is $31.750 million per year, at minimum, this deal will only add fuel to the fire.

Still, you have to wonder how everything plays out from here, especially after this latest news. The Williams extension gives Vea’s camp a new data point to push for more money, but it simultaneously gives the Buccaneers front office a strong case for why the two situations aren’t comparable.

And it’s exactly why this has been one of the harder contract negotiations, across the NFL, in a while. Both sides have good arguments to make and the outside isn’t making things any easier.