Following his one-year, $30 million extension, Bucs DT Vita Vea had strong praises for head coach Todd Bowles, while confirming that Tampa is the place he wants to be.
Amidst an offseason filled with contract rumors and key players seeking an extension, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers extended defensive tackle Vita Vea on Wednesday, putting his potential trade rumors to rest.
Vea had originally requested a trade in late-July, but the team made it clear that the goal was to find common ground with Vea, who inked a one-year, $30 million extension with the franchise.
On Thursday, following his lucrative signing, Vea talked about the upcoming season and his appreciation for head coach Todd Bowles.
"He [Bowles] is always putting us into the best position to play…If anything, blame us players for not executing," Vea said. "Bowles puts us into the best position to play. I even told Bowles, ‘the day you retire is the day I retire.’"
These are very strong remarks from Vea, especially considering the perceptions around Bowles' and his job security heading into the upcoming season.
But, Vea assured media that the defensive shortcomings the team experienced last year were not because of Bowles, saying that he gives his players "all the answers to the test."
Vea went on to say that he never wanted to leave Tampa, and has made the city his home.
"I didn’t want to leave that behind, switch teams, get traded," Vea said. "That was never the plan for me."
Retaining Vea is a huge success from the Bucs' front office, who had already experienced crucial departures in free agency from franchise legends Lavonte David and Mike Evans.
While the team has recouped these losses well, drafting and acquiring pieces at the wide receiver and linebacker positions, it will take some time to get used to being on the field without these cornerstone players.
While Vea admitted it will be "tough" to rebound from losing David on the defensive side of the ball, he praised the future Hall of Famer for going out on his own terms.
“I wish he got more praise than he did," Vea said. "I feel like a lot of people slept on him. We knew his work over here.”
Going forward, Vea, who is one of the longest-tenured players on the team, will need to pick up the slack from a leadership perspective and help the Bucs return to defensive prominence.
Last season, Vea recorded 4.5 sacks and 34 tackles, adding a fumble recovery and two passes defensed.
This marked a fourth-straight campaign with 4.5 sacks or more, with the 6-foot-4 nose tackle recording 23.5 over his last four seasons.
Outside of the production, Vea is an extremely consistent player, playing in 13 or more games in all but one season during his impressive career.
Prior to his deal, Vea was making less than $18 million annually, which ranked in the bottom-half for interior defensive linemen.
But, his new $30 million price tag falls next to players like Kansas City's Chris Jones and Tennessee Titans DT Jeffery Simmons making upwards of $31 million with their new deals.
This is a fair price for Vea, who provides so much on Tampa's defense, taking up two offensive linemen on most plays and stuffing the line of scrimmage in run support.
