The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a franchise that has always been built on defense. From their defensive minded head coach who helped win them a Super Bowl as defensive coordinator, to maybe the greatest defense in NFL history in 2002 to the first pick in franchise history in Lee Roy Selman. The Bucs have always embodied defense.
Just think of the names to pass through Tampa in the last 25 years alone. Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, Ronde Barber, John Lynch, Lavonte David, Gerald McCoy; the list goes on and on. Now the Buccaneers face a crossroads with one of their all time great defenders.
Vita Vea is entering the final year of his contract. Based on the current market, he is very underpaid as one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL. So it’s natural that he would want an extension with a nice pay bump.
For Context
Dexter Lawrence is making an average of $28 million per year while Vea is only making $18 million. These two are the gold standard in the NFL at their position, so for there to be such a big gap is a testament to how underpaid Vea is. He should be paid $25+ million per year based on the level of player he is and has been.
Tuesday it was reported that this contract issue has reached the stage of a “hold in”. Vea was at mini camp yesterday, but did no practice despite being healthy. It has now been reported that this is in part due to his contract situation.
This is understandable. Vea wants security to stay in Tampa and to be paid on par with his peers. This probably looks like a two or three year extension that makes him one of the highest paid defensive tackles in the NFL.
Canton Bound?
As a nose tackle, it’s easy to overlook Vea’s greatness. Afterall, this isn’t a highlight reel position. Nor is it a position that gets players into the Hall of Fame. But if it were, Vea would be at the top of the list to go to Canton.
As a run defender, Vea is nothing short of dominant. He has been the anchor of six top five rushing defenses in his eight year career. That’s an insane stat to me that 75% of the years he’s played the Buccaneers have allowed the top five fewest rushing yards in the NFL.
If you compare that to other nose tackles throughout time, that is incredibly impressive. Guys like Vince Wilfork and Haloti Ngata (who were maybe the two best nose tackles of the last 25 years) were able to anchor run defenses that were so consistently dominant.
Then when you factor in pass rush, Vea blows other nose tackles away. Vea already has more sacks than both Wilfork and Ngata despite playing five fewer seasons than both. Vea’s 35.0 career sacks are more on par with passing rushing nose tackles like Dexter Lawrence (30.5) and Kenny Clark (38.0).
So, it feels obvious that the Bucs extend such a force of nature in the middle of their defense, right? Maybe not. There are other factors at play other than what Vea does on the field.
Age Is Undefeated
The biggest issue is that Vea is 31 years old. Obviously there is a level of athletic decline for NFL players in their 30s and when you weigh roughly 350 lbs then it’s extra stress on the body. Keep in mind, Ngata played his last season in Baltimore at age 30 and Wilfork left New England after his age 33 season.
You also have to factor in the other pending extension that the Bucs have coming up. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is also underpaid at an average of $33 million per year. Guard Cody Mauch and Edge Yaya Diaby are in the last year of their rookie deals and both have earned a nice payday as critical parts of the core of this team.
When you consider the guys who need to be paid as well as other top tier players like Tristian Wirfs and Antione Winfield Jr who are already near the top of the pay scale, there just might not be enough money to go around. And considering the Bucs probably won’t let their quarterback walk, it comes down to young players in their mid 20s or an aging nose tackle in his early 30s.
I love Vita Vea, he is one of my favorite Buccaneers ever. His greatness can’t be overstated and if it were up to me then he would have a small extension. However, in a cap league you have to make hard choices. And the cold hard reality is that we might be watching Vea’s final season in Tampa Bay.
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