The Las Vegas Raiders overhauled their defense as much as any NFL team this past offseason. They will have new starters at every level as first-year defensive coordinator Rob Leonard has installed a multiple defense that looks to be one of the more versatile schemes in football.
But could they make another move — a major one at that — before Week 1?
As training camps kicked off around the league, The Athletic reported that defensive tackle Vita Vea requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Extension talks stalled between the team and Vea, who’s entering the final season of a four-year, $71 million contract.
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If Vea, a Bay Area native, is interested in moving back west, the Raiders become an option. It would be logical for the Raiders to have interest in the two-time Pro Bowler. But would it make sense for them to acquire Vea at this point in a rebuild? Here’s what the team’s brass will be weighing.
Why the Raiders should acquire Vea
Raiders general manager John Spytek won’t need to watch much tape to evaluate Vea’s worth. As the Buccaneers’ director of player personnel, he was responsible for scouting Vea ahead of the franchise selecting him 12th in the 2018 NFL Draft. Spytek was also part of the front office that signed Vea to his current deal in 2022.
What Spytek watched up close was one of the league’s most prolific interior game wreckers. Vea is a force against the run; his 48 career tackles for loss are 13th most among interior defensive linemen since he entered the league, per TruMedia. But Vea is more than a traditional gap plugger. According to TruMedia, among defensive tackles, his 35 career sacks are 10th most and his 7.8 percent pressure rate is top-30 since he entered the NFL.
Vea’s production hasn’t slowed much since Spytek left to take the Raiders job. His 51 pressures were fifth most at the position in 2025, according to TruMedia, and he posted 4 1/2 sacks on the year. Vea was also a big reason the Buccaneers were a top-five run defense in yards allowed (99.1 per game) and the best run-stuffing team in the league (20.5 percent run stuff rate).
Tom Brady and Vita Vea (right) were teammates in Tampa Bay. (Kim Klement / Imagn Images)
Spytek knows Vea is talented and durable (just seven missed games total in the past five seasons). There would be no surprises if the Raiders made the move. Even minority owner Tom Brady knows how valuable Vea is, having won a Super Bowl with him.
Vea also has a reputation for high character and leadership skills, serving as a defensive captain for the Bucs since 2022. Those are qualities Spytek and head coach Klint Kubiak targeted this offseason. Vea also represents exactly what the Raiders need defensively. The team lacks a true nose tackle to fit into Leonard’s new three-down front, and Las Vegas didn’t add one in the offseason despite having opportunities to do so via free agency and the draft.
Adding Vea between Maxx Crosby and Kwity Paye would vault the Raiders’ defensive front into the upper echelon, especially in rush defense. While the Raiders are still a rebuilding team and have other questions to answer, being elite against the run would ensure every game is competitive. And if Vea plays as he can, his addition could expedite their rebuild in a big way.
Why they shouldn’t
The reasons the Raiders might hesitate to extend an offer for Vea has less to do with the player and more to do with where the franchise is.
Optimism is high in Las Vegas after the offseason. The hire of Kubiak, the selection of Fernando Mendoza and a lucrative free-agent haul have created a sense that things will turn around soon. But the Raiders are also seven months removed from finishing with the league’s worst record. The team is squarely in the first stages of a rebuild.
Quick turnarounds have happened before. The New England Patriots made the Super Bowl last season after winning four games in 2024. Yet given the remarkable strength of the Raiders’ schedule and the competition atop the AFC West, such an about-face is unlikely for Las Vegas this season, no matter whom the Raiders add at this time of year.
There’s a pressing issue with making a move for Vea, as the Raiders would have to create cap space to take on the final year of his contract. Las Vegas should be able to manage that, by giving Tampa Bay a player (or players) in return and/or releasing others. But the bigger matter is Vea’s future after this season.
If traded, Vea would presumably get a contract extension from the acquiring team. Unhappy with the Buccaneers’ offers, he likely wants a raise from his current $17 million average annual salary, as well as guaranteed money (of which he has none in 2026). Vea’s deal puts him 20th among interior defensive linemen for the coming season.
He’ll be 32 when that extension begins and could accept the deal with the intention of it being his last contract. Vea has shown evidence of slowing down, although The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. recently wrote about the trend of defensive tackles aging well. Still, Vea just doesn’t fit the MO in light of the Raiders’ recent moves.
Basically every player the Raiders have signed to a multiyear contract under Spytek has been 27 or younger. Most are second contracts, with the general manager looking to lock up players for their primes. If Spytek has added an older player (such as Kirk Cousins and Taron Johnson), he’s subsequently made an addition who could soon replace them (such as Mendoza and Treydan Stukes). Multiyear, lucrative contracts for tenured veterans have been avoided; Crosby’s contract was a main reason Spytek tried to trade him.
All that is to say: The Raiders have a vision as to when the play of their draftees and younger signings will coalesce into a successful team. By the time that happens, Vea might not be worth his lucrative contract and could even hinder Las Vegas from building around a young core.
Along with probably seeking a new contract, Vea likely won’t be cheap in terms of trade price, either. And to this point, the Buccaneers haven’t shown any sign they intend to honor his request.
Vea would be an instant upgrade for the Raiders if acquired. But, whether he’s interested or not, the move makes sense only if Spytek believes the veteran fits with the team’s timeline.
