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Rueben Bain Rookie Struggles

October 12th, 2026

Rookie OLB Rueben Bain.

Though all of this is a bummer, it doesn’t shock Joe.

Sooner or later, Bucs rookie Rueben Bain will get the hang of things. The guy is just too talented to vanish.

The overly-hyped Bain has been a non-factor. The Miami Mauler hasn’t mauled anyone. Yet.

In three games played, including two starts, Bain has three tackles and nothing else. No quarterback hits. No hurries. No sacks. No passes batted down. No nothing. Goose egg.

But he’s a rookie.

Rookie edge rushers/outside linebackers rarely dominate. Yeah, YaYa Diaby had 7.5 sacks as a rookie but his numbers have gone downhill since.

Is Bain in the right fit? Joe has doubts. Is Bain being used right in KitKat-eating Todd Bowles’ defense? Joe has even more doubts.

Joe chalks a lot up to Bain being a rookie. Though he was a defensive tackle, Warren Sapp only had three sacks his rookie year. He turned out OK.

The sad thing for Joe is, Bain isn’t going to work out his issues and learn by watching on the sidelines. Right now, Bowles and his staff really can’t afford to wait. Everyone at One Buc Palace needs wins now. And that means putting your best players who give you the best chance to win on the field. Bain is not currently among that group.

David Walker has shown he’s the outside linebacker that gives the Bucs a better chance to win. If that means Bain has to watch from the sidelines whiel Walker plays more snaps, the Bucs may need to do that.

Joe doesn’t think the Bucs can lose to Pittsburgh recover for a playoff run from 1-5. If it gets to that point, you may as well play Bain full-time, production or non-production.

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4 Responses to “Rueben Bain Rookie Struggles”

  1. birdie Says:
    October 12th, 2026 at 4:53 am

    Bowles won’t let him do his thing.We won’t know how good he is until we have a new D coordinator.Right now we know he can cover receivers.

  2. Capt.Tim Says:
    October 12th, 2026 at 5:30 am

    Bowles and Licht do not value the pass rush.
    That, and failing to fix the Oline, is what will get them both fired this year.

    I never expect anything from rookies- because you never get anything from rookies.
    Every flash of talent, is followed by 5 screw ups or getting out played.

    But that’s ok. That’s what every intelligent football person expects.

    The major failure here isn’t Bain learning the pro game
    It’s that Jason Licht and Todd Bowles expected rookies to fix thus defense’s many problems! That’s the failure.

    I’ve said it since right after the draft, and I’ll say it again
    Counting on Rookies isn’t a plan. It’s hope.
    And hope always dies on NFL fields

  3. WalkDaPlank Says:
    October 12th, 2026 at 5:35 am

    I saw Walker and Yaya switching it up, left and right, but not Yaya and Bain. Still haven’t noticed Bain with Walker yet. Hope that will happen at some point as that’s the Bucs best chance to wreak havoc in the backfield, assuming Bain puts it all together.
    Still it made me smile to watch both Yaya and Walker drop back into coverage on Yaya’s interception. That must have killed one of the Joes. I’ll take that over a sack any day…. While fully acknowledging that I want both.

  4. Todd Says:
    October 12th, 2026 at 5:38 am

    Warren Sapp had 3 sacks his rookie year and he turned out to be a HOF’er-Jury is still out on Bain.

 

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