The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not close to extensions for Baker Mayfield or Vita Vea, and Monday’s report left the team staring at a July 28 training camp reporting day with both deals still unresolved. NFL Network said the talks are unlikely to be worked out any time soon.
That is why Mayfield keeps drawing attention now. He is 31 years old, coming off two Pro Bowls in three seasons with the Buccaneers, and he is on the verge of the final season of a three-year, $100 million pact. In the quarterback market, he sits 16th in average annual salary at $33.3 million, while 12 quarterbacks above him are making at least $51 million a year. For a player who has helped stabilize the position, that gap matters.
Mike Garafolo said on The Insiders that there is no rush for Tampa Bay to get new deals done for either player, even with camp approaching. He also said there is confidence a Mayfield deal will get worked out, which fits the arc of Mayfield’s own comments earlier this summer. In early June, he said his side and the franchise were not anywhere close on a new deal. Later in June, he said both sides needed to find middle ground. That makes the current hold-up less a breakdown than a negotiation still waiting for the right number.
Vea’s situation is even more immediate. He is entering his ninth NFL season, all with the Buccaneers, and the final season of his four-year, $71 million contract. He is 19th in APY at $17.75 million per season, a place that looks increasingly out of step after Jeffery Simmons signed a three-year, $105.8 million extension with the Tennessee Titans, a deal that reset the market for interior defensive linemen. Vea also did not take part in offseason practices, including mandatory minicamp, because of his contract situation, so the dispute has already spilled beyond the spreadsheet and onto the field.
The Buccaneers have reason to move carefully, but they also know the cost of delay. They lost Mike Evans and Lavonte David this offseason, and a drawn-out standoff with Mayfield or Vea would only deepen the pressure on a roster that has already taken hits. The cleanest read is this: Tampa Bay is not close yet, but the July 28 reporting day is now the point where the talks either start to harden into real movement or begin to carry camp consequences.
