- May 21, 2026
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The Buccaneers entered training camp with a pair of contract impasses taking center stage.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield is expected to play out the season on the final year of his deal after failing to come to agreement on an extension this offseason and defensive tackle Vita Vea requested a trade after trying to land a new contract of his own. At a press conference, Bowles was asked about keeping the focus on football as the negotiations play out publicly and said he isn't worried about players taking their eyes off the ball.
"Well, there [are] players every year [that] you're going to have them [with]. These happen to be two of our biggest players," Bowles said, via a transcript from the team. "We haven't had two of our biggest in a while, but we've had players every year. It just hasn't been of that magnitude. But, it's always about football. There [are] always going to be distractions just like there are on game day. There are going to be sudden changes and there are going to be sudden changes on the field. We have a very professional and mature group with a lot of leadership there, starting with Baker. So, he makes sure that's separate. He makes sure the team knows that's separate. Like I said, we're not going to make this training camp about what he signed or what he didn't sign or it being his contract year. We're just going to play ball."
Bowles said questions about whether there's a chance of continued contract talks with Mayfield should be addressed to General Manager Jason Licht. Mayfield may have an opportunity to address that first while Bowles keeps his attention on making sure the team is ready to go for Week 1.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield is expected to play out the season on the final year of his deal after failing to come to agreement on an extension this offseason and defensive tackle Vita Vea requested a trade after trying to land a new contract of his own. At a press conference, Bowles was asked about keeping the focus on football as the negotiations play out publicly and said he isn't worried about players taking their eyes off the ball.
"Well, there [are] players every year [that] you're going to have them [with]. These happen to be two of our biggest players," Bowles said, via a transcript from the team. "We haven't had two of our biggest in a while, but we've had players every year. It just hasn't been of that magnitude. But, it's always about football. There [are] always going to be distractions just like there are on game day. There are going to be sudden changes and there are going to be sudden changes on the field. We have a very professional and mature group with a lot of leadership there, starting with Baker. So, he makes sure that's separate. He makes sure the team knows that's separate. Like I said, we're not going to make this training camp about what he signed or what he didn't sign or it being his contract year. We're just going to play ball."
Bowles said questions about whether there's a chance of continued contract talks with Mayfield should be addressed to General Manager Jason Licht. Mayfield may have an opportunity to address that first while Bowles keeps his attention on making sure the team is ready to go for Week 1.