Tampa Bay Buccaneers nose tackle Vita Vea is one of the best in the game and has been operating at the highest level for years, and the Bucs owe him a lot for his dominance over the years, including playing a crucial role in Tom Brady's final Super Bowl ring in 2021 with a romp of the Kansas City Chiefs. And even in 2025 when the Bucs defense was horrendous under Todd Bowles, Vea still managed to be one of the most impressive nose tackles in the league from both a film and production stand point.
However, the Buccaneers are going to have to forge ahead without him, seemingly, because the elite defensive tackle has demanded a trade after negotiations that have failed so spectacularly, it raises the question if Bucs general manager Jason Licht even wanted to pay him in the first place given his age and the sudden inflation of the prices of defensive tackles in 2026, looking at the latest big contracts like Jalen Carter's with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Vea is already getting interest from around the NFL, and various insiders and analysts are coming up with their lists of the most likely landing spots. Via Joe Bucs Fan, ESPN's Dan Orlovsky, who used to be a quarterback for the Detroit Lions, picked out six teams that would make sense to trade for Vita Vea: the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Chargers, and San Francisco 49ers.
The Bucs need Vita Vea
But instead of Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans rolling their eyes at the prospect of the Niners taking another icon of the franchise from them like they already did this offseason with wide receiver Mike Evans joining the other Bay Area in free agency, the main takeaway from Orlovsky's segment on the Pat McAfee Show is that the Bucs actually need to keep Vea around.
Orlovsky said of the situation, “For Tampa’s sake, I hope they don’t let him out of the locker room. I think Tampa’s a contender. I think you do everything you can to try to keep him.”
Every single Buccaneers fan will be thinking the same thing, because while Vea is 31 years of age and will be incredibly expensive, he can also help the Bucs go far in the playoffs. And with all their defensive problems, any Super Bowl hopes the Bucs have cooked up in their heads over the next couple of years likely go out the window without Vea around.
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