Pro Bowl player requests trade from Tampa Bay Buccaneers on eve of training camp amid contract dispute

New York Giants HC John Harbaugh said that

As negotiation tactics go, asking for a trade the day before training camp opens is the NFL equivalent of reaching for the nuclear codes before deciding to type them in. But that's exactly what Tampa Bay Buccaneers nose tackle Vita Vea has done.

The two-time Pro Bowl player has grown so frustrated with contract discussions this offseason that he's decided he doesn't see a future with the team, and has asked to be traded, a league source confirmed to Fox News Digital.

That doesn't mean a trade will happen. Vea is under contract for the 2026 season and is scheduled to make up to $18 million if he can play all 17 games in the final year of his current contract.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) scrambles away from Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea (50) during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

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The Bucs aren't simply going to hold a fire sale to avoid the trade talk distraction, per a source.

Vea wants more money and points to the fact he is currently the 19th-highest-paid interior defensive lineman in the league. And he believes he is much better than the 19th-best defensive lineman in the league.

Vea is, for all intents and purposes, the structural centerpiece of the Tampa Bay defense. He is arguably the team's best run defender and, as all NFL defensive coordinators often note, if a defense cannot stop the run it is unable to do much of anything else.

Vea provides a rare combination of size, power to movement to control the middle of the formation from his nose tackle spot. At 6-foot-4 and 347