Buccaneers First-Rounder Rueben Bain Jr. Misses Wednesday Practice

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were very excited about first-round draft pick Rueben Bain Jr. Bain fell to No. 15 in the 2026 NFL Draft due to some concerns about his arm length and an off-the-field incident, but the Bucs were very confident in what he showed the team this offseason and thought he would be a big contributor in the pass rush.

Two weeks in, though, he hasn't been a big contributor anywhere. Bain has recorded just one tackle over two weeks, and he has two pressures, zero quarterback hits and a 0% pass-rush win rate with a defensive snap share of 62%.

It has not been a good start at all for Bain, and during Wednesday's practice, a big reason why may have been revealed.

Rueben Bain Jr. Absent at Wednesday Practice

Bain was not present at all during Wednesday's practice. While there's no way to know for sure until Todd Bowles speaks later today, the most likely reason is his sprained AC joint in his shoulder, which he suffered against the Jacksonville Jaguars during joint practice in the last week of training camp.

Bain didn't miss any time due to that AC joint sprain, but Bowles implied during his Monday press conference that Bain has still been affected by that injury over his first two games.

"I mean, I don't think he's completely healthy, but at the same time, he's good enough to play, so we've got to get more production there," Bowles said.

This is the first time all year so far that Bain has missed a practice. It's possible that the injury is worsening or that he's getting some extra attention to it this week in light of his rough start, but this would be a departure from the beginning of the season after he's gotten a signiciant share of reps over the first two games of the season.

Either way, the Buccaneers will need all the firepower they can get when they face off against the Minnesota Vikings at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday. The Bucs are mostly healthy, but linebacker Josiah Trotter was in a shoulder wrap on Wednesday and may not have participated in practice.