Baker Mayfield\u00a0isn’t the only Buccaneer searching for a new deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vita Vea\u00a0has been sitting out of practices, including mandatory minicamp. The defensive tackle’s lack of participation is contract-related, NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo\u00a0reported\u00a0Tuesday, per sources informed of the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 31-year-old Vea is entering the final year of his four-year, $71 million extension signed early in 2022. He’s set to make $17 million in base salary with zero guaranteed money. Vea’s $17.75 million per-year average ranks 19th among interior defenders. Nine of those players are earning $24-plus million per season, topped by\u00a0Chris Jones\u00a0at $31.75 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coach Todd Bowles brushed aside a question about Vea on Tuesday, noting that the veteran was healthy, but mentioned nothing of a contract dispute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We don’t need to see him right now,” Bowles said,\u00a0via Joe Bucs Fan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A two-time Pro Bowler, Vea manhandles offensive linemen in the middle of the Bucs’ defense. He’s a one-man run-game destroyer and can still generate penetration, earning 35 career sacks. Sans the big man, the Tampa defense would be in a sore spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It remains to be seen whether the Bucs have an appetite for an extension for the veteran nose tackle, or how long such a deal might be. A short-term extension that leapfrogs Vea up nearer the top of his position but doesn’t break the bank long-term could make sense for both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If a deal doesn’t get done by training camp in late July, the question is whether Vea will conduct a hold-in that is a bit louder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Baker Mayfield\u00a0isn’t the only Buccaneer searching for a new deal. Vita Vea\u00a0has been sitting out of practices, including mandatory minicamp. The defensive tackle’s lack of participation is contract-related, NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo\u00a0reported\u00a0Tuesday, per sources informed of the situation. The 31-year-old Vea is entering the final year of his four-year, $71 million extension signed early […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12903],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-417357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-12903"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417357"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":417358,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417357\/revisions\/417358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}