Lions GM says club has been aware of concerning Rueben Bain Jr. incident 'for a while'

Shortly after it was reported on Sunday that Miami edge-rusher Rueben Bain Jr. was involved in a fatal vehicular crash when he was a sophomore in March 2024, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated shared that NFL teams had been aware of the incident "for a long, long time." 

On Monday, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes confirmed the NFC North club is one of the teams referenced by Breer. 

Lions have known about Rueben Bain Jr. story "for a while"

"We’ve known that for a while, so that doesn’t really change anything from our standpoint," Holmes said about whether the Bain story surfacing could impact how the club views the prospect, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. 

According to Ollie Connolly of The Read Optional, Bain was cited for careless driving before one of four passengers, 22-year-old Destiny Betts, died after spending nearly three months in a coma. That charge was dismissed approximately two weeks before Betts passed away, and Connolly noted that "no finding of criminal liability has been made in connection with the crash or [Betts'] death." 

For an article posted on Monday, Breer mentioned that one unnamed executive from a team that possesses a pick in the top 10 of the 2026 NFL Draft "said Bain was open 'to the extent he could be' about the situation." Breer added that he doesn't "think this is going to change where Bain gets picked in the draft" because the story "isn’t exactly a curveball for the people involved." 

It was previously thought that arm-length concerns could cause Bain to be drafted after at least the 12th overall pick is made. Detroit currently possesses the draft's 17th selection. 

Why Lions may not make a big move to land Rueben Bain Jr.

Depending on how far Bain slides, the Lions theoretically could consider making a trade to acquire him. However, Holmes suggested on Monday that the team signing former Carolina Panthers starter D.J. Wonnum in free agency means the club doesn't necessarily have to grab a pass-rusher with a high-value draft pick on the night of April 23. 

Wonnum tallied three sacks over 16 games this past season. 

"You never want to feel that way when you select a player," Holmes said about possibly drafting a player just to fill an alleged hole on the roster, per Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit. "You pass up a really good player that you liked even more, but there is a question mark on your roster, so you just go ahead and you get that player that you weren’t as excited about. I know for me, it’s hard to sleep at night when you do that."