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By Matthew Davis
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been one of the steadiest franchises for years, but that's looking all the more uncertain of late.
Buccaneers nose tackle Vita Vea wanting a trade amid a contract standoff is simply the latest symptom. Tampa Bay's biggest symptom hit earlier this year when longtime star wide receiver Mike Evans left for the San Francisco 49ers in free agency.
Winners of a Super Bowl in 2020, the Buccaneers kept many of the players together from that team for years, and they kept making the playoffs and winning the NFC South. Now, the remaining pillars of the most successful run in franchise history are splintering apart. Vea and Evans have been pillars during the run from 2020 to 2025.
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Evans, who had expressed his desire to finish his career with the Buccaneers in the past, left instead. He told reporters during his 49ers introduction that "it was just football and something I can be excited about" after 12 seasons in Tampa Bay.
Only weeks after Evans' exit in March, longtime Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David retired. While David, 36, was reaching that point, he was still playing at a high level, and the Buccaneers were entering each season with confidence in making a big run.
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Tampa Bay bolted out the gate to a 6-2 start last season, and quarterback Baker Mayfield looked like an MVP candidate. That's exactly how a succession plan from Tom Brady three years earlier should go.
Then, injuries and mistakes caught up with the Buccaneers, and the team missed the playoffs at 8-9 for the first time since 2019 before Brady arrived. Tampa Bay regressed back to the pre-Brady era, or worse, and the signs are showing.
Mayfield has been in contract extension limbo with the Buccaneers this year despite his strong performances. His future remaining unknown is simply another symptom, but it might be the most telling.
A franchise that built a Super Bowl roster before Brady's arrival did it by keeping players, drafted by the team, for years. Mayfield found a career resurgence in Tampa from 2023 on after Brady retired, but now Mayfield could be out faster than some quarterbacks who seem more disgruntled.
Turnover is normal in the NFL, so only three starters remaining from when the Buccaneers last lifted the Lombardi Trophy six years ago is normal, too. That said, two longtime starters leaving this year after quality play in 2025, along with a possible third in Vea, indicates that it's not smooth sailing right now in Tampa.
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