By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-07 13:14:58 | Updated at 2026-08-07 13:56:11
52 minutes ago
Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht has insisted the team has 'no plans' to trade away Vita Vea this offseason.
The Super Bowl-winning defensive tackle stunned the Bucs last week by requesting a move away from Florida after failing to agree terms on a contract extension.
Vea has been present at the Bucs' facility throughout training camp so far. He's taken part in meetings and classroom work and observed practice from the sideline. He's also been seen coaching teammates in positional drills.
On Thursday, however, Licht vowed the 6ft 4ins, 347-pound Vea would not be traded away in the coming weeks.
'I have no plans on trading Vita,' he said, when asked about Vea's agent saying he 'doesn't see it ending in anything but a trade' earlier this week.
'We love Vita,' Licht continued. 'We've been engaged with his agent recently. I don't know how it's gonna end, but we've been engaged and that's at least some progress.'
Bucs GM Jason Licht has insisted the team has 'no plans' to trade away Vita Vea this offseason
Licht hopes Vea can be convinced to stay in Florida, despite his request to be moved on
A first-round draft pick in 2018, Vea put rival teams on red alert just six weeks before the new season begins and it seems like he knows where he wants to end up next season.
According to The Athletic's Ted Nguyen, Vea wants to go either to a team based in California or to the Las Vegas Raiders. That means the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, as well as the San Francisco 49ers are all contenders to land his signature.
The two-time Pro Bowl selection is set to earn $18 million this season, the final year of his existing four-year deal with Tampa Bay.
Before last season, Bucs coach Todd Bowles claimed 'there's nobody like' Vea but now he's facing up to the prospect of losing him entirely.
Vea has been at the heart of the Bucs defense ever since they drafted him out of Washington in 2018.
He helped Tom Brady and the Bucs win the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021, when they prevailed 31-9 at their own Raymond James Stadium.
Meanwhile, the future of Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield is also in limbo.
He has decided to play out the final year of his contract without a new deal, despite being in talks with Bucs executives for several months.
Mayfield has enjoyed a career resurgence in Florida after rough stints with the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams.
Vea reportedly wants to join a team on the West Coast that can compete for the Super Bowl
Licht also hopes to strike a deal with Baker Mayfield after the quarterback's angry outburst
But the quarterback set a deadline to get a deal put together before the start of training camp and there is still no offer in place.
Last week, he said he felt 'disrespected a little bit' after no progress was made in negotiations and that he 'deserved to be compensated' for his performances in Tampa.
On the future of Mayfield, Licht added: 'I'm not going to get into specifics about the contract and all that stuff, but yeah - we do think he is [a franchise quarterback].
'We love Baker. Baker's in a great place right now. We're in a very good place.'
'Baker, as we all know here, is a very fiery competitor that's not afraid to speak his mind. I'm sure - I know he's disappointed, frustrated. We were too. But like I said, he is, we're in a good place. He's focused on having the best year of his career.'
