Tampa Bay just got a scare with its top draft investment, and then just as quickly got some relief. Rueben Bain Jr., the edge rusher the Bucs took 15th overall out of Miami, suffered an AC sprain in practice this week, and for a few hours nobody outside the building knew how bad it was.
Sources: Buccaneers first-round pick Reuben Bain Jr. suffered an AC sprain, but it is said to be “nothing serious”, and he is expected to be ready Week 1 at Cincinnati.
Then came the update everyone in Tampa was waiting on. Adam Schefter reported the sprain is being described as "nothing serious," and that Bain is still expected to be ready for Week 1 at Cincinnati. That's the best-case outcome for a guy who was one of the most hyped defensive prospects in this year's class.
Buccaneers’ Rueben Bain Jr. suffered an AC sprain, but it’s believed to be “nothing serious,” and he’s still expected to be ready for Week 1, per @AdamSchefter
It's easy to forget Bain is still a rookie given how loud his college tape was. He won ACC Defensive Player of the Year and the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation's top defensive end after piling up 9.5 sacks last season and 20.5 for his Miami career, per ESPN and NFL.com's draft coverage. Bucs GM Jason Licht said after the pick that Tampa Bay never expected a player of Bain's caliber to still be on the board at 15 — which is exactly why an injury scare, even a minor one, gets everyone's attention this fast.
The timing works in Bain's favor. ESPN's report on the injury notes the sprain happened during Tuesday's joint practice with the Jaguars, and with the Bucs not opening the regular season until September 13 in Cincinnati, that leaves roughly 18 days for the shoulder to calm down before it actually matters. That's plenty of runway for a sprain that's already being labeled minor.
None of this changes the plan in Tampa. The Bucs took Bain to be a Day 1 difference-maker off the edge, and a scare like this is the kind of preseason noise that usually gets forgotten the second the pads come off in the opener. For now, the only news is the good kind: he's banged up, not out.