Rueben Bain Jr. has already started knocking down the biggest knock on him.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie pass rusher, who has yet to play a snap in an NFL regular-season game, is being talked about like one of the offseason’s best additions. And for a team that badly needed help getting after the quarterback, Bain’s arrival could not come at a better time.
Tampa Bay’s defense gave quarterbacks too much room last season, and the Buccaneers were leaning heavily on Yaya Diaby as their only known edge rusher. That need becomes even sharper with Vita Vea, the team’s most disruptive rusher from the nose tackle spot, potentially on the move in a trade. If that happens, Bain’s presence off the edge becomes even more important to the Buccaneers’ success in 2026.
The Buccaneers also enter the year trying to recover after blowing the NFC South to the Carolina Panthers, a collapse that included multiple brutal divisional losses down the stretch when they should have had the race wrapped up. Instead, Tampa Bay missed out on what would have been a third straight playoff trip under Baker Mayfield at quarterback.
Bain, the Miami Hurricanes product, is already giving Tampa Bay reasons to believe it found a difference-maker. During joint practices with the New York Jets, he reportedly embarrassed offensive tackles and outshined Jets edge rusher David Bailey, whom they selected over Bain. For a rookie who was heavily criticized before the draft, that kind of showing matters.
A lot of draft talk centered on Bain’s arm length, with analysts insisting he was too limited physically to succeed in the NFL. Tampa Bay ended up taking him anyway with the 15th overall pick, and now that early practice work is making those doubts look a lot weaker.
Bain is coming off what was described as the best 2025 college football season of literally anyone in the country, and his style has already translated into the kind of violent edge play the Buccaneers were missing. The word around him is simple: he’s a seasoned Floridian with a mean streak, and he’s not wasting time proving people wrong.
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Buccaneers QB Depth Suddenly Puts An Unproven Rookie In Spotlight
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Bazelak arrives with a long college rsum that included stops at Missouri, Indiana and Bowling Green, along with more than 12,000 passing yards and 66 touchdowns across 58 games. For the Buccaneers, the immediate question is less about polish than opportunity, and how much the rookie can handle when the preseason opens with the spotlight suddenly on him. [Read more 🡒]