Trade requests and claims of disrespect overshadow training camp as contract stalemates with Baker Mayfield and Vita Vea threaten to derail the Buccaneers' season before it begins.
The opening days of training camp for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been filled with exactly the type of distractions NFL teams hope to avoid.
Instead of football, most of the talk surrounding the Bucs has focused on contract disputes between the organization and its quarterback, Baker Mayfield, and defensive tackle Vita Vea. Both players are entering the final year of their contracts, and it has been known that they were hoping to secure new deals before camp.
However, the team was unable to get either deal done, causing Vea to request a trade and Mayfield to end negotiations so he could focus on the season.
Heading into the season with the futures of Mayfield and Vea in limbo is not good for the Bucs, especially after last season's epic collapse. Not only is the organization involved in disputes with two of its best and most important players, but it is also causing bad blood, making it less likely that they will be resolved quickly and/or amicably.
Mayfield ripped the organization for his extension not getting done, telling reporters he felt "disrespected" and "undervalued" by the club. Vea is "highly upset" about his own situation.
However, Bucs' head coach Todd Bowles doesn't appear phased by all the noise, telling reporters that there are "always going to be distractions."
Always Going To Be Distractions
Bowles, whose own future with the Bucs is in question, believes contract disputes are just a part of the NFL. He says they happen every year, but this year it just so happens to involve two of the Bucs' biggest players.
"Well, there (are) players every year (that) you're going to have them (with)," Bowles said of contract disputes. "These happen to be two of our biggest players. We haven't had two of our biggest in a while, but we've had players every year. It just hasn't been of that magnitude. But, it's always about football. There (are) always going to be distractions just like there are on game day. There are going to be sudden changes and there are going to be sudden changes on the field."
Bowles has a point: contract disputes and holdouts happen regularly in the NFL.
What he is leaving out is the magnitude of these disputes, and how they may hover over the team all season. Not to mention that, while these "distractions" have been public for a while, the organization never seemed to take them seriously or show any sense of urgency to have them resolved.
It was reported weeks ago that the Bucs felt like their final offer to Mayfield before camp would be the best he would receive, including from the other 31 teams. The organization assumed Mayfield would accept.
They couldn't have been more wrong.
Bad Vibes Surrounding The Team
Training camp is supposed to be a new beginning of sorts. It signals the start of a new season. Everything that happened last season is over, and hope springs eternal for the upcoming campaign.
For the Bucs, that means they get to wash away the stain of the 2025 season and prove to the world that this season will be different.
Instead of excitement, there are bad vibes surrounding the team. Even the worst teams in the league can usually hold the bad vibes off until at least October.
To his credit, Bowles is doing his job and separating the contract distractions from what happens on the field, which he believes Mayfield will do as well.
"We have a very professional and mature group with a lot of leadership there, starting with Baker. So, he makes sure that's separate. He makes sure the team knows that's separate. Like I said, we're not going to make this training camp about what he signed or what he didn't sign or it being his contract year. We're just going to play ball."
Final Thoughts
Of course, Bowles isn't going to act like it's time to panic. But nothing will change the fact that the organization appears to have bungled contract negotiations with both its offensive and defensive leaders.
It would be one thing if either set of negotiations were making progress or if the efforts had any positive impact at all. Unfortunately, just the opposite has happened. The last few weeks apparently haven't brought the sides any closer at all to making a deal.
Coach Bowles has work to do to make sure his team stays focused. No player enjoys being asked about his teammates' contract situations.
Distractions may always happen, but they don't always feel as strong as these ones do.
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