NFL insider teases new life between Vita Vea and the Buccaneers and it could mean big things for Baker Mayfield, too
Are the winds changing between Vita Vea and the Buccaneers’ contract standoff? Adam Schefter believes so.
Honestly, it’s been looking pretty bleak for Vita Vea and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when it comes to his contract standoff and that’s because there simply hasn’t been any progress as Vea continues to skip practice heading into Week 2 of the preseason.
Well, all of a sudden that may have flipped on its head when considering what ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently said on The Pat McAfee Show.
Schefter believes the winds have changed between the two sides, and he made that quite clear when he spoke to the former Colts punter.
“See, that’s the whole thing with these situations, right? They could be at a certain spot on a certain day in a certain week and then they could flip,” said Schefter. “And I’m just saying to me, reading between the lines, having conversations with people, it feels like there’s been a shift in that one. It feels like we’ve gone from a tone of pessimism to one where there’s potential optimism.
“It feels like we’ve gone from Vita Vea wanting a trade to Vita Vea now wanting to try to get a deal done. It feels like we’ve gone from there being questions about Vita Vea not being in Tampa to now let’s see if they can get one done. I think it’s flipped. I think eventually the two sides figure it out. I think they get something done and I think Vita Vea stays.”
That’s obviously huge for the Buccaneers, no pun intended. If Tampa Bay can get Vea his new deal and back on the field soon, there’s a good chance he plays in Week 1. Right now, the longer he sits out, the less of a chance he has to suit up for the opener because the Buccaneers aren’t going to just trot him out there after missing the entire offseason. That would be coaching malpractice, player mismanagement, whatever you want to call it. It only increases the risk of injury, which is something no party wants after going through the entire offseason ordeal.
Could this open the door for a Baker Mayfield deal, too?
With all that being said, maybe this opens the door for a Baker Mayfield contract extension. Sure, we all know Mayfield had his training camp deadline, but if the Buccaneers call his agent with a strong offer they know Mayfield and his camp will accept, there’s no chance in the world the agent is just going to say “Nope, sorry, you didn’t meet our deadline. We’re not going to take this strong deal.”
No agent is going to do that. It would be horrible business on his end and would short-arm both himself and Mayfield. It’s just not going to happen.
Regardless, the point stands: If the Buccaneers are willing to open up their wallets for what should be a very big deal for Vea, maybe they’ll come around to Mayfield, too.
So who knows, maybe both of the Buccaneers’ star players will have new deals by the time Week 1 rolls around. Schefter’s comments are an encouraging sign for a situation that looked stuck literally just a day ago.
