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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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On Monday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers' two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Vita Vea shocked everybody by requesting a trade after extension talks fell through. He had reportedly been negotiating a new deal all offseason, but remained a pillar of the franchise, having just won a Super Bowl in Tampa a few years ago.
Then, just 24 hours later, it was reported that quarterback Baker Mayfield would report for training camp, but without a new deal in place. He too had been pushing for an extension for months, and said previously he would end negotiations once camp arrived. He appears willing to play out the final year of his contract.
Those are two of the biggest names on the roster, both clearly frustrated after contract talks fell through. On Tuesday, former All-Pro wide receiver Adam Thielen, now working as an analyst at ESPN, spoke on an episode of "NFL Live" about all of the contract drama going on in Tampa Bay.
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“Does (Vita) feel that maybe they don’t have the defense? Maybe he doesn’t believe in the scheme or the system? Maybe it's nothing; maybe it's just he wants more money, and this is his way of getting it. But when you have leaders on both sides that are doing this, something's up," Thielen said. "Do they not believe in the head coach? Do they not believe in what they're running? I don't know, I feel like there's a little bit of an alarm, maybe a red flag."
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Vea has already won an NFL title with the Bucs, and Mayfield took the team to two straight playoff appearances in his first two years as the starter. Both are multi-time Pro Bowlers and arguably the two best players on the roster. So when both have issues with the organization, and one of them requests a trade, it could hint at something deeper.
Head coach Todd Bowles has been with the franchise since 2019, serving as a defensive coordinator during the Bucs Super Bowl run before taking over as head coach in 2022. He's also already signed to a multi-year extension that keeps him in Tampa through the 2028 season.
General manager Jason Licht, meanwhile, has been with the organization even longer, taking on the role way back in 2014. Together, they've built a team that goes into every season looking like one of the favorites in the NFC. Super Bowl aside, the Bucs have won four of the last five NFC South titles, two of which were with both Mayfield and Vea.
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This is a winning franchise with a respected front office. But nobody saw either of these situations coming, so it's natural to start to wonder what's really going on behind closed doors.
But if both players are still on the roster by the time Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season rolls around, this remains one of the best teams in the conference and a legitimate playoff threat.
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