Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea’s agent said this week that he doesn’t see Vea’s contract impasse with the team “ending in anything but a trade at this point,” but the team is taking a different view of things.
Vea requested a trade ahead of training camp after spending the offseason working to land a new contract in Tampa and the team said it didn’t intend to make a move at the time. On Thursday, General Manager Jason Licht reiterated at a press conference, via multiple reporters, that he has “no plans” to make a trade.
Licht acknowledged that he doesn’t know how things will end with the longtime Buc defender, but that they have “engaged” with Vea’s representatives.
Vea has not been practicing at camp, which some have called a hold-in despite head coach Todd Bowles saying Vea tweaked his back during a conditioning test. Licht said that the team does not want Vea to aggravate the issue and that there’s no timetable for when Vea might start practicing this summer.
