Rueben Bain Jr. was not viewed as likely to be available at No. 15. The Buccaneers were believed to have given the Miami defensive end a top-five grade on their board. Tampa Bay entered the draft in need of EDGE help, and the team exited Round 1 with one of the top prospects at the position.
The Bucs have made quick work of signing Bain to his rookie contract. The sides agreed to terms on Bain’s first-round slot deal Thursday, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud. Bain’s deal comes fully guaranteed — worth $22.79MM — and will include a fifth-year option for the 2030 season.
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Tampa Bay was in the Trey Hendrickson market, something GM Jason Licht confirmed this week, and pursued Jonathan Greenard via trade. but ended up with a lower-cost option (Al-Quadin Muhammad — at one year and $4MM) in free agency. As Muhammad profiled as a stopgap alongside contract-year rusher YaYa Diaby, the Bucs now have Bain in place as a high-end developmental option behind the veterans. Diaby is an extension candidate, and Bain’s rookie deal would complement a second contract for the team’s top incumbent edge rusher nicely.
Linked to trading down from No. 15, the Bucs were “over the moon” to come away with Bain in that spot. Bain was mentioned as a candidate to go in the top 10, but potential EDGE-seeking teams Kansas City and New Orleans went in different directions.
An arm-length issue, albeit one that may not have been as clear-cut as it seemed, impacted Bain’s draft stock. He was also involved in a car accident in which one of the passengers in the vehicle he was driving died. The latter issue did not bring charges, only a careless driving citation, and it was not believed to have much effect on the ex-Hurricane’s perception among teams entering the draft; teams had known about the incident for longer than the public.
Diaby hit as a third-round pick for the Bucs, but the team has not seen a player eclipse eight sacks in a season since Shaquil Barrett‘s 2021 campaign. The team whiffed on first-rounder Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, and its 2025 Haason Reddick free agency addition did not work out. Diaby’s seven sacks paced the Bucs last season; no one else reached the five-sack mark. That has been a theme for Tampa Bay in recent years, even as Vita Vea has been one of the NFL’s best defensive tackles in this span.
Bain, 21, registered 7.5 sacks as a freshman in 2023 and tallied 9.5 to help Miami reach the CFP championship game. Bain racked up 15.5 tackles for loss last season, earning All-America acclaim. While an edge rusher by trade, Bain worked as an inside disruptor at points for the Hurricanes as well. That would give Tampa Bay some options.
The Chiefs were believed to view Bain as their backup plan to Mansoor Delane, but Kansas City left Bain on the board when Cleveland greenlit a trade that sent the draft’s top cornerback prospect to Missouri. Staying in Florida, Bain will attempt to give the Bucs a dependable edge-rushing presence after falling to 15.