The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have rattled off wins in three of their past four games to reestablish themselves as a playoff contender in the extremely weak NFC South division. With the trade deadline just days away, that has put the Bucs in a strange spot, as the front office is still trying to figure out whether it should add or subtract from its roster.

Even with the team recently getting itself back on track, that hasn’t stopped star defensive tackle Vita Vea from seeing his name pop up in trade rumors ahead of the deadline. We’ve already seen some aggressive moves get made for interior defensive linemen across the league, but one insider doesn’t believe that Vea will wind up landing with a new team before the deadline strikes.

Buccaneers’ Vita Vea Trade Rumors Get Shut Down by Insider

Ever since entering the league as the No. 12 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Vea has been one of the most consistent defensive tackles in the league. He has a pair of Pro Bowl selections to his name, and he also helped the Buccaneers take down the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, which immediately solidified his legacy with the franchise.

Over the offseason, Vea requested a trade due to stalled contract negotiations with Tampa Bay. He eventually signed a one-year, $30 million contract extension, but that was really more of a band-aid than a full-fledged deal. Vea is happy with his deal for now, but the Bucs are going to have to revisit it again over the offseason.

Rather than doing that, though, some folks have wondered whether or not the Buccaneers’ front office could try to flip Vea ahead of the deadline. Teams have shown interest in acquiring him, but NFL insider Jonathan Jones of The Athletic made it clear that he doesn’t think that Tampa Bay will be able to get the sort of offer it would need in order to move on from him.

The dearth of available defensive tackles has led to some teams believing they could take a shot at Tampa Bay Buccaneers big man Vita Vea. That will be tough,” Jones wrote. “I don’t think Tampa Bay would turn down a first-round pick for Vea, but I also don’t think any team is going to offer one for a 31-year-old with one season left on his deal.”

Should the Buccaneers Trade Vita Vea?

Vea has remained a key part of the Bucs’ defensive line to begin the season, and with his contract situation taken care of (for now, at least), there isn’t necessarily a rush to trade him. That could change once the offseason rolls around, but it’s fair to wonder if Tampa Bay would be passing up a better return for Vea if it traded him now, rather than potentially waiting until the offseason.

Had the Buccaneers continued losing, this conversation would probably be different, but they have a real shot at winning the NFC South, so trading Vea would make achieving that goal substantially more difficult. A loss on Sunday against the Chicago Bears could change the front office’s plans in the blink of an eye, but for the time being, a Vea trade seems quite unlikely.