Packers just gave Vita Vea the kind of leverage Bucs can't ignore

It has been an offseason of change for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Saying goodbye to franchise legends like Mike Evans and Lavonte David means that only a small sampling of players from the Super Bowl LV-winning team remain in the building. It feels like yesterday, but it really wasn't.

One of those players is Vita Vea, who was a young star hoisting that Lombardi Trophy and is now a bona fide veteran at the age of 31. But make no mistake: Father Time has not caught up to Vea yet, and his hold-in in Tampa Bay is well warranted. Jason Licht needs to make things right.

And while the Bucs have a history of taking care of their own and fertilizing their homegrown talent, they've strayed from that course this offseason with Vea and Baker Mayfield. Luckily for Vea, the league keeps handing him the kind of leverage that Licht and the Tampa Bay front office can't ignore.

Packers' Devonte Wyatt extension increases urgency for Bucs to get Vita Vea deal done

In late June, the Tennessee Titans extended Jeffery Simmons, which raised the ceiling of Vea's new deal or market correction dramatically. In terms of average annual salary, Vea makes just $17.75 million, whereas Simmons is now set to make nearly $35.3 million per year.

At 31, Vea isn't likely to get that kind of money. Simmons is probably the best or most well-rounded defensive tackle in the league, but he definitely isn't twice as valuable as Vea is. That deal wasn't enough for Tampa Bay to scramble to get Vea under contract, though.

Luckily, the Green Bay Packers just firmly raised the floor for Vea's eventual financial adjustment with the Bucs, as they extended defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt on Monday on a three-year, $57 million deal. For those of you without a calculator handy, that is $19 million per year.

By no stretch of the imagination is Wyatt in the same stratosphere as Vea when it comes to pure ability or impact, let alone worth more money. The only thing that Wyatt has going for him is age, and he's not even a spring chicken at 28 years old.

Let's just take a quick gander at the PFF ratings for both players in 2025.

That about sums it up. Plus, Vea has missed just three games over the last three seasons, and Wyatt missed seven alone in 2025 and 11 total in the last two years. Availability is always your best ability as a player.

Vea is the heartbeat of the Tampa Bay defense. Since he became a full-time starter in 2019, the Bucs have enjoyed the No. 1 run defense in the league, and they've finished in the top 5 in six out of eight seasons. For anyone who has watched this team play over the years, you know that's no coincidence.

Not only can he get after the quarterback better than almost anyone in the league from the 0 and 1-techs, but Vea is as good a two-gapper as they come. He has made life so easy for the rest of the defensive line and the linebackers over the years that it simply cannot be quantified.

With David now retired, Vea's ability to run stuff is even more important. Surely, Licht and Todd Bowles recognize that and will get a deal done before the season that makes sense for both sides. And we can now safely say that the contract will be worth more than $19 million per year.

If Wyatt is making that, the Bucs must be dreading the next phone call from Vea's agent.

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This article was originally published on thepewterplank.com as Packers just gave Vita Vea the kind of leverage Bucs can't ignore.