Vita Vea wants out, Bucs GM Jason Licht says no chance

Vita Vea wants a new deal, and when the Buccaneers didn't budge, his camp went nuclear. Vea, 31, is in the final year of the four-year, $71 million extension he signed back in 2022, and this season's $17 million salary comes with zero guarantees. That's the kind of number that gets a two-time Pro Bowler's agent picking up the phone.

Vea already held in at mandatory minicamp over the standoff, and his agent isn't pretending there's a soft landing here. "I just don't see it ending in anything but a trade at this point," he told reporters — about as blunt as it gets from an agent trying to squeeze a franchise for leverage.

Licht didn't blink. Asked directly about moving Vea, the Bucs GM shut it down fast.

That's a notable stance for a front office to take in public with an unhappy Pro Bowler on the roster, but it tracks with how Tampa Bay has operated under Licht — dig in, let the noise pass, worry about the roster in September. Vea's numbers back up why they'd want to keep him: 4.5 sacks, 13 quarterback hits and 34 tackles last year, and 35 sacks total since Tampa Bay took him 12th overall back in 2018. He's not a guy you replace on the fly at the position.

The Vea standoff wasn't the only loyalty test Licht faced in that same session — reporters also pushed him on whether Baker Mayfield is still the guy long-term, and he didn't hedge there either.

Jon Gruden piled on with his own praise for Mayfield's toughness, pointing to his run of 51 straight starts as the trait that stands out most.

So Tampa Bay is publicly all-in on Mayfield while telling its best defensive lineman to sit tight and play out a contract he clearly doesn't want. Vea's camp isn't walking anything back, which means this drags into camp and probably right up to roster cutdowns unless Licht changes his tune or finds an offer he can't refuse.