The Tampa Bay Buccaneers seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, their quarterback Baker Mayfield has publicly expressed his disappointment about not having a contract extension to his liking. On the other hand, the team’s veteran nose tackle Vita Vea is no closer to an extension than he was a week ago when he decided to hold out of training camp, requested a trade. A back injury has complicated matters further for both the Bucs and Vea.

So when general manager Jason Licht sat in front of reporters recently, he spent around 12 minutes answering questions about Vea and Baker. The very first thing he offered with respect to Vea was an injury update.

“He’s got a minor [back] thing right now, and we don’t wanna make it a major thing,” Licht said. “So, I don’t wanna deal with hypotheticals right now, but he’s got a minor thing, we’re trying to take care of our players.”

Regardless of the minor back injury and the hold in, Licht believes Vea is “one of the better D-Linemen in franchise history,” and a “very important piece” of the puzzle. But Vea’s on the last year of the $71 million contract he got in 2022. The market has shifted a lot since then, and with contract negotiations not going anywhere, Vea’s agent has recently shared an ultimatum about his client.

Speaking to Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud, Vea’s agent, Collin Roberts, had said, “I just don’t see it ending in anything but a trade at this point.”

In his presser, Licht was asked about this comment, and whether “this relationship is salvageable” or not. Licht used this question to offer a strong vote of confidence in Vea, sprinkled with some hope for the Bucs.

“Yeah, we love Vita,” Licht said. “We’ve been engaged with his agent recently. I don’t know how it’s gonna end, but we’ve been engaged. And that’s at least some progress.”

Licht then confirmed that he’s already getting calls from other teams regarding a trade. But when a reporter asked about trading plans, Licht shut it down with a crisp, “I have no plans on trading Vita.” He also added that he expects Vea to play this season, and is trying to “resolve” the standoff right now.

Now, the easiest way to resolve this situation is to give Vita Vea the contract he’s looking for. But just like Baker Mayfield, the two sides have not been able to agree upon a number. Vea’s market outlook, per Spotrac, stands at 2-years, $62.9 million. That’s a massive boost from the $22.1M cap hit he carries into 2026. In the meantime, head coach Todd Bowles also shared Licht’s optimism when it comes to Vea ending his hold in.

“Again, it’s still early. We’ve only been in pads for two days,” Bowles said in his own presser earlier. “We’re not concerned at this point, and I think those things take care of themselves. Once you get past two or three preseason games, you start to worry a little bit. Right now, there are a lot of contracts getting done. There are a lot of people in camp [that are] sitting in or holding in. There are a lot of people nicked up. We go about business as usual. He’s been very engaged, and he’s been great.”

Engaged or not, the fact is that Vita Vea is not practising. Jason Licht says they are “trying to take care” of their players. The minor back issue plaguing the 31-year-old defensive tackle could be resolved soon if the Bucs are careful with him. Beyond that, Vea might not suit up or end his hold-in if the Buccaneers don’t give him a good deal. Per senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, there’s a very high chance that Vea suits up elsewhere before September.

“The fact of the matter is Vita Vea is very unhappy,” Schefter said on the Pat McAfee Show recently. “He’s already asked for that trade. I don’t see this situation changing anytime soon. He’s in the last year of a deal that’s scheduled to pay him $18 million when the defensive tackle market has been reset. He feels like they haven’t treated him the right way. He wants to be traded.”

How this ends is anyone’s guess, but for now, Jason Licht is trying his best to dissolve this situation and come out the other side with Vea still being a cornerstone of his franchise. Vea’s agent, meanwhile, won’t make it easy.