Bucs defensive tackle Vita Vea was present for the first day of mandatory mini-camp on Tuesday. But he wasn’t participating like the rest of the team.

Vea was in shorts, a jersey and a ball cap as he walked around the practice fields at the AdventHealth Training Center. Head coach Todd Bowles was asked about Vea and responded that it wasn’t an injury that was preventing the Bucs’ big man from being a full participant.

We now have the answer that Bowles didn’t outright say, but we suspected, thanks to NFL Insider Mike Garafolo.

Garafolo reports that Vea’s non-participation is due to him wanting his contract addressed. This is known around the league as a “hold in,” which is where a player reports to the team facility for a mandatory setting like mini-camp or training camp but refuses to participate. A “hold out” is where a player doesn’t report and is subjected to fines by the team for refusing to show up.

The Bucs went through this with Tristan Wirfs in 2024 where he was a “hold in” for mandatory mini-camp before getting his contract extension during the first week of training camp. Wirfs did participate in training camp, but only the individual periods and not any 11-on-11 sessions until he received his new contract.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Vea, who is in the last year of a four-year, $71 million extension that he signed in January of 2022. The two-time Pro Bowler is due to make $17 million in base salary and another $1 million in per game roster bonuses this year.

Garafolo noted Vea’s compensation has fallen well behind other interior defensive linemen who have signed more recent deals, such as Chris Jones (2024, $31.75M APY), Jordan Davis (2026, $26M APY) and Dexter Lawrence (2026, $28M APY). But the more important thing to remember is not the average per year of the deal, but the cash flow.

As it stands right now, Vea’s $18 million cash due this year ranks not only behind those three players, but nine others, including Daron Payne and Kenny Clark. Objectively, Vea is playing better than multiple players above him. And none of his salary this year is guaranteed. That shouldn’t be all that important because there is an almost zero percent chance the Bucs would cut Vea. But for NFL players, guaranteed money provides security in an uncertain profession.

Bucs DT Vita Vea and Saints QB Tyler Shough – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

What Is Vita Vea Looking For From The Bucs?

What we don’t have full details on right now is what Vita Vea, the team’s first-round pick in 2018, is looking for specifically. It may be a long-term extension or simply a market increase on his salary for 2026. Perhaps he is open to either so long as Tampa Bay addresses his compensation in some way, shape or fashion before the season starts. We haven’t heard from Vea’s representatives to get clarity on their desired outcome, nor have we heard if there are open and ongoing negotiations.

We at Pewter Report have previously conjectured that the Bucs have been preparing for a post-Vea world for multiple seasons now. After restructuring his contract in 2023, they have opted not to push salary cap hits into the future for three straight offseasons, signaling that they want to exit his deal after this season with as little dead money as possible.

That’s not to say the team wouldn’t want him back in 2027, just they would prefer to make that decision at that time rather than earlier.

Possible Middle Ground(s)

In a late May episode of the Pewter Report Podcast, we covered a possible Vita Vea extension while ultimately forecasting the likelihood of a long-term deal as very low. During that exercise we projected Vea’s asking price on an extension could be as high as $27 million per year, while the Bucs could counter, if they counter at all, as low as $18 million per year. The compromise we saw was at around $21 million per year on a two-year deal.

There are two potential middle grounds the team could explore to resolve this situation. The first is to not extend Vea but give him a market adjustment for 2026. A $3 million bump to $21 million this year would move him into the top 10 in cash at his position while still allowing the team to walk away clean in 2027 when Vea turns 32.

The second option is a popular tool used around the league. The one-year extension. Tampa Bay used that several times with former linebacker Lavonte David when he was in his early 30s.

The Bucs could give Vea a one-year extension on his current deal, at say $24 million. That would make his total remaining deal two years and $42 million. They could then split the cash flows evenly across the two years at $21 million each while guaranteeing the 2026 salary. It gives Vea the same bump in the straight raise scenario above while also effectively giving the team an option on his 2027 salary if he continues to play at a high level.

Bucs DT Vita Vea – Photo by: USA Today

Or The Bucs Could Do … Nothing

We have seen Tampa Bay play this tune before. Mike Evans tried to get an extension in 2023. The Bucs didn’t blink and made him play out the final year of his deal before they negotiated a new contract with him the following year. Antoine Winfield Jr. was also forced to play out his contract year in 2023 and he turned an All-Pro season into a lucrative, four-year extension that made him the league’s highest paid defensive back for a moment.

Baker Mayfield recently said his camp and the team were “nowhere close” to a deal that he is seeking so he doesn’t have to play in a contract year. The Bucs are comfortable letting players get to the brink of free agency. And chances are they don’t break that pattern with the 31-year old Vita Vea.