If the Las Vegas Raiders are interested in bringing in a veteran like Vita Vea, they received a positive update on Aug. 5. On Jul. 27, ESPN reported that Vea has requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after talks on a contract extension stalled.
Moreover, The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen reported on Jul. 27 that Vea would like to be traded to either the Raiders or a team in California, including the Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, and San Francisco 49ers.
Last season with Tampa Bay, the veteran defensive tackle played 764 total snaps, leading to a 72.8 overall PFF defensive grade. Moreover, Vea generated 51 total pressures, four sacks, 39 hurries, and eight QB hits while also recording 22 solo tackles against the run.
In an Aug. 5 article, Vea’s agent spoke with the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud and made it clear where the player stands after his trade request.
“I just don’t see it ending in anything but a trade at this point,” Vea’s agent, Collin Roberts, said.
Vea isn’t practicing, as the team is in its second week of training camp, and Tampa Bay did state that Vea tweaked his back during a team run last week. Since that issue, he has attended practice but not participated.
As a result, it will be interesting to see if the Raiders decide to make a serious offer for Vea, as he could be a useful veteran and fit the team’s new culture they want to build.
Las Vegas Gets Blunt Vita Vea Take From Chris Simms
Recently, NBC Sports NFL analyst Chris Simms shared that he wouldn’t be surprised if Vea ended up in Las Vegas.
“Vita, four or five years ago, was a wrecking ball, a force of nature to deal with,“ Simms said on the Jul. 28 edition of “PFT Live.” “He’s still really good, but is he like that anymore? No, not necessarily.
“When you brought up the Raiders and everybody talking about that, it made sense. He’s got to find a spot that will, one, pay him and, two, be with a team where you can look at it and say, ‘Hey, there’s a need at that position.’
“Put that together with GM John Spytek and Jason Licht. They’re buddies. They’re as close as you can get. So, can they work something out here for Vita Vea so he can get to a team that really needs a defensive tackle? That wouldn’t shock me.”
Vita Vea Would Add More Leadership to Raiders Team
Vea would bring championship experience and leadership to the Silver and Black. Furthermore, Maxx Crosby recently stated that he would like to have more leaders on the team speaking up about why Fernando Mendoza shouldn’t hesitate to lead, despite being a rookie.
Adding someone like Vea would give Crosby some help in that leadership department, especially on defense.
“I’m a Raider to the core, and I want to win more than anything,“ Crosby said while speaking to the NFL Network on Aug. 3. “So, it’s going to take all of us, not just myself. It’s everyone. It’s all three levels, you know what I mean?
“… I don’t want to just be the only guy talking all the time. It can’t just be me. It’s not basketball where Kobe [Bryant] grabbed the dudes and was like, ‘No, this is what we’re doing.‘ There’s 15 dudes on the team. You got 90 guys on the roster right now and 40 coaches.”
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