Respect is going to be hard to come by for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2025.
The NFC South Division is generally looked at as the weakest in the NFL and the Buccaneers are coming off a season in which they were upset by the Washington Commanders at home in the NFC Wild Card Round.
That’s the thing about respect in the NFL, though. You have to earn it every year. Whatever you have one year doesn’t translate to the next — it gets wiped away like all that PTO you never use.
Super Bowl champion and 2-time Pro Bowl nose tackle Vita Vea got an idea what kind of respect the rest of the league has for him when NFL executives voted him No. 9 among NFL interior defensive linemen headed into the 2025 after coming off arguably the best season of his career.
Vea was listed among the honorable mention picks at his position in 2024 and was only one of 3 players on the list to have made a Pro Bowl and also won a Super Bowl along with Kansas City’s Chris Jones (No. 2) and Philadelphia’s Jalen Carter (No. 3).
New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence was voted to the No. 1 spot.
“Vea slimmed down last offseason, and the result was a career-high 7.0 sacks along with his usual run-stopping ways,” ESPN”s Jeremy Fowler wrote on July 8. “But the stats don’t tell the story with Vea, whose raw strength is undeniable. Vea’s 10 tackles for loss also marked a career high.”
Vea’s Strength Legendary in NFL Circles
Vea, 6-foot-4 and 347 pounds, is a Paul Bunyan-esque figure in NFL circles due to his size and unbelievable strength — at the 2018 NFL scouting combine he did a staggering 41 reps in the 225-pound bench press.
Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce joked that facing Vea was one of the reasons he retired following the 2023 season.
Kelce played the final game of his Hall of Fame career in a loss to the Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card Round.
“(I retired) because of knees that no longer wanted to block guys like Vita Vea,” Kelce said. “And elbows that continually pop and get stuck in certain positions.”
Vea On Verge Of Making Franchise History
Headed into 2025, Vea has 30.5 career sacks and is just 2.5 sacks away from entering the Top 10 career sacks leaders for the Buccaneers.
Lee Roy Selmon, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1976 NFL draft, is Tampa Bay’s career leader with 78.5 sacks from 1976 to 1984.
“The Buccaneers’ defense centers around imposing nose tackle Vita Vea,” Buccaneers.com’s Brianna Dix wrote on March 26. “The two-time Pro Bowl veteran wreaks havoc in the trenches, whether clogging holes or penetrating the backfield. He amassed 39 tackles (nine for loss), 7.0 sacks, 12 quarterback hits and one pass defensed in 15 games played in 2024.”
Vea’s great 2024 season also means he will now likely see every cent of the 4-year, $71 million contract extension he signed in March 2022. Vea’s contract included $33.9 million in guaranteed money — all of which had been paid through the 2024 season.
If Vea plays out his current deal, which he almost certainly will, he will have approximately $94.4 million in career earnings following the 2026 season.
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