The Chicago Bears did little to improve the defensive line this offseason, which was a curious move considering how poorly the unit performed in 2025.
But there is something to the notion that the right player/right opportunity did not present itself. And now, perhaps, he — and it — has.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers probably don’t want to trade defensive tackle Vita Vea, but he has asked out, and Danny Heifetz of The Ringer Fantasy Football Show believes Vea should land in Chicago.
“Every time there’s a defensive lineman available in a trade, I think about Chicago, which I thought was summed up by this Pro Football Focus (PFF) stat that Chicago allowed the most yards before contact on designed runs in the NFL last year — 800 yards just before contact for Chicago,” Heifetz said on July 30. “They’re a Super Bowl-caliber team in Chicago that doesn’t have a Super Bowl-caliber front-seven.”
Bears Would Have to Pay Vita Vea Handsomely Upon Trade
GettyTampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea.
Heifetz followed up his trade idea with another take that is popular among analysts around the league: that the Bucs aren’t likely to deal Vea because he is so crucial to their defense.
That said, Vea is entering the final season of his $71 million contract and it’s hard to argue that the two-time Pro Bowler isn’t underpaid entering his age-31 campaign. The New York Giants recently moved Dexter Lawrence, one of the few defensive tackles in the entire league who boasts a game on par with Vea’s, and they did so for the No. 10 overall pick in the 2026 draft.
Vea probably wouldn’t fetch the same value in return given that he is two and a half years older than Lawrence, has played one more season and has never made an All-Pro team, while Lawrence has made two of them.
But Vea should go for a second-round pick plus a valuable Day 3 asset — perhaps as high as a fourth- or fifth-rounder. Chicago could be interested in that type of deal if the organization is willing to sign Vea to something like a three-year contract in the neighborhood of $26-$30 million annually, which would place him among the top five-paid players at the position.
Vita Vea Type of Player Who Can Put Contending Team Over Top
GettyTampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea.
The biggest questions the Bears would have to answer are whether Vea is worth the risk at that price and his age, as well as if they believe they are truly Super Bowl contenders within the next two or three seasons.
Vea has missed just seven games over the past five years and had just one season meaningfully marred by injury — 2020, when he played five total contests. Vea also brings stout run defense alongside the ability to create pressure up the middle, which has proven a rare and winning combination in the modern-day NFL.
PFF ranked Vea 20th out of 134 qualifying interior defenders in 2025, and 12th in pass rush, after he produced 51 QB pressures (7th for defensive tackles), 39 hurries (fourth among DTs) and 4.5 sacks.
Chicago is among the top candidates for regression in 2026 after creating the most turnovers and the highest turnover margin in the league last season, but adding a player like Vea is the exact type of addition to defense needs to level up.
Health, an improved defensive front and one more year for a young offense under head coach Ben Johnson might be enough to put the Bears in the conversation for the NFC crown by as early as 2027. And if Chicago brass agrees, and the team can potentially secure Vea without giving up a first-round pick in next year’s loaded draft class, it’s a move the Bears must strongly consider.
Bears Trade Pitch Nets $71 Million Defensive Anchor for 2 Draft Picks