Rueben Bain Jr., Bucs Schedule Questions

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to SR each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: When we have third-and-28 again on defense (hopefully it’s in the playoffs vs. the 49ers) will Rueben Bain Jr. eat?

ANSWER: Well, that’s why the Bucs drafted Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. with the 15th overall pick in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft. Bain was regarded as one of the best pass rushers in college football last season and helped lead the Hurricanes to the national championship game with a career-high 9.5 sacks.

Bain should start opposite Yaya Diaby, who is entering a contract year, and that would give Todd Bowles a very talented one-two punch when it comes to his edge rushers in base defense or nickel defense. Both Bain and Diaby are physical players, but Bain is more nimble and agile and he has better bend than Diaby. Whether it’s as a rookie or perhaps in 2027, he should be a strong candidate to lead Tampa Bay in sacks.

Bain looked incredible during the rookie mini-camp, and head coach Todd Bowles said he was “already in midseason form.” Bain excelled in all of the drills and in 11-on-11s, showing great get-off and power. He also showed excellent leadership and professionalism by sprinting across the field at the change of practice periods, and being the first Bucs rookie to arrive at the next drill.

I understand the premise of your question, as it was former Bucs – and now 49ers – wide receiver Mike Evans, who openly complained about Bowles’ defensive collapse on third-and-28 and then fourth-and-14 as Tampa Bay blew a 14-point lead with 10 minutes left to Atlanta last year. In third-and-long situations last year, the Bucs didn’t get the pass rush juice they had hoped from 31-year old Haason Reddick, who proved to be a free agent bust.

Bain has thrived in big game situations before, posting a career-high three sacks at Texas A&M in the first round of the college playoffs last year. Then he had a sack against Ohio State in the next round, and versus Indiana along with a career-high eight tackles in the national championship game. I have no doubt that he will thrive in big game moments in red and pewter for Tampa Bay for years to come.

QUESTION: Will David Walker be 100% healthy for start of camp, and can he be a solid No. 3 edge rusher?

ANSWER: David Walker is expected to be cleared for training camp as he completes his rehab from last year’s ACL injury, which occurred on the third day of camp last July. Walker, who was a recent guest on the Pewter Report Podcast, said he hopes to be cleared by the team’s trainers to participate in the OTAs in May, or at the very least, mandatory mini-camp in June.

Tampa Bay had high hopes for Walker, who was the team’s fourth-round pick last year, and missed his pass rushing ability last year. Defensive tackle Calijah Kancey missed 14 games due to a pectoral injury, and outside linebacker Haason Reddick finished with an underwhelming 2.5 sacks. As a result, the Bucs totaled just 37 sacks, which was the lowest by any defense in Tampa Bay since Todd Bowles arrived in 2019.

Walker had 39 sacks in four seasons while playing at the FCS level. And his return to action, along with the additions of free agent Al-Quadin Muhammad and first-round pick Rueben Bain Jr. plus starter Yaya Diaby, should greatly aid Tampa Bay’s pass rush off the edge. Last year when Diaby was off the field, the Bucs literally had no pass rush. Anthony Nelson had 3.5 sacks as a reserve, while Chris Braswell, a former second-round pick, has been a huge disappointment with just one sack. Braswell is in serious jeopardy of not making the 53-man roster.

With Bain and Diaby, the team’s leading sacker from last year, set to start, Walker and Muhammad will likely battle for the OLB3 role on the depth chart. But because Bowles likes to rotate his defensive line in waves like a hockey shift, Walker and Muhammad will mostly likely team up as Tampa Bay’s second-string edge rushers when Bain and Diaby need a breather on the sidelines. I think Walker can make a serious impact this year, and he’s plenty hungry after missing all of his rookie campaign with what turned out to be a redshirt season due to his knee injury.

QUESTION: Looking at the schedule release this week, all NFC South teams are slated to play all the NFC North teams which might be best division in the NFL. I’m thinking whichever NFC South team can manage to win the most of these matchups will most likely win the division. Thoughts on this?

ANSWER: That’s an interesting way to look at it, and you might be right. I think the NFC West is actually stronger with three teams – Seattle (14-3), Los Angeles (12-5) and San Francisco (12-5) – with 12 wins or more along with Arizona, which finished 3-14. But the NFC North didn’t have a team with a losing record in that division. Chicago won the division with an 11-6 record, while Green Bay finished 9-7-1 and Minnesota and Detroit finished 9-8.

When it comes to football schedules – whether it’s college or pro – the first objective should be to win the winnable games. Don’t lose to inferior opponents. The Bucs have done that far too often under head coach Todd Bowles. Losing to the Panthers and Browns on the road in 2022 during Tom Brady’s final season immediately comes to mind. In 2023, it was losing to rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Texans at Houston, as well as losing to backup QB Gardner Minshew and the Colts in Indianapolis.

In 2024, the Bucs had no business getting swept by the Falcons nor should they have lost at Dallas on Sunday Night Football to backup QB Cooper Rush. Last year, losing at home to rookie QB Tyler Shough and a six-win Saints team shouldn’t have happened, and getting outplayed by the seven-win Dolphins led by rookie QB Quinn Ewers in Miami was unforgivable. Blowing a 14-point lead to an eight-win Atlanta team on Thursday Night Football last year might have been the most egregious loss over the last couple of seasons.

The Saints have one of the league’s easiest schedules and face three teams that had Top 10 picks in the Cardinals, Raiders and Giants. I think that’s noteworthy in an NFC South division where the winner has only prevailed by one game – or a tiebreaker – dating back to 2022. I still think the Bucs have the most talented team in the division on paper, and I discussed my reasoning in Friday’s SR’s FAB 5 column. But whichever team ends up faring the best within the division will likely win the NFC South due to its competitive nature.

QUESTION: Regarding the schedule release, do you have any wishes for the Bucs?

ANSWER: My initial wish is for this team to not lose three games in a row – and I’m sure that’s echoed by Bucs fans everywhere. That’s happened every season since Todd Bowles took over as head coach in 2022. And since the 2023 season, Tampa Bay has actually lost four games in a row every year. During last year’s disappointing 8-9 season, the Bucs had a three-game losing streak and a four-game losing streak as part of a 2-7 collapse after a 6-2 start heading into the bye week.

I also like when the Bucs have their season opener on the road and their season finale at home. Bowles and the Bucs have started off each year 2-0, and that includes going 6-0 on the road and 2-0 at home during the first two weeks of the season since 2022. Under Bowles, Tampa Bay is 3-1 in season finales, winning the last two at home versus the Saints and Panthers, while winning at Carolina in 2023 and losing at Atlanta in 2022.

There is a Bruno Mars concert at Raymond James Stadium on opening weekend, so that means the Bucs will start on the road again this year. And that’s actually a blessing for Tampa Bay fans, as Ray-Jay is a scorcher in September with ridiculously hot and humid weather early in the season.

I would also love to see the Bucs actually have a home-field advantage for once for the sake of the team’s season ticket holders. Under Bowles, the Bucs have gone 4-4 at home every year, including last season, with the exception of the 2024 campaign where Tampa Bay finished 5-4 at home. Great teams typically have a very strong home-field advantage, losing maybe 1-2 games at home at most. The Bucs finished with a 7-1 home record in 2021 when they won a franchise-best 13 games.

Pewter Report will be hosting a special primetime edition of the Pewter Report Podcast, our Bucs 2026 Schedule Release Show, on Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. ET. Be sure to join us as we analyze Tampa Bay’s schedule – and bring your comments!

QUESTION: Do you see the team bringing in a bigger back to help complete the rotation or is the team content with Sean Tucker or Josh Williams filling that role?

ANSWER: I don’t think so, I think the Bucs might be done signing running backs heading into training camp. Yet Tampa Bay’s front office will continue to keep its eyes open for available talent all the way up until the season opener. Remember, the Bucs signed running back Leonard Fournette in September after he was released by Jacksonville prior to the start of the 2020 campaign.

The Bucs just signed New Mexico State running back Kadarius Calloway after he successfully competed as a tryout player during last week’s rookie mini-camp. He’ll compete with Josh Williams and Owen Wright for the RB4 role this summer. At 211 pounds, Calloway is the second-biggest back on the roster behind Wright, who is 5-foot-9, 217 pounds, and at 5-foot-11, Calloway is the tallest back in Tampa Bay. The team had a bigger back last year in reserve Rachaad White, who was 6-foot and weighed about 220 pounds.

I don’t think the Bucs necessarily have a need for a big runner weighing 220 pounds or more, although I prefer having a good big back on the roster. I grew up watching Redskins running back John Riggins as a child growing up in Virginia, and Chiefs running back Christian Okoye as I got older while living in Kansas. Tampa Bay fans have always loved a good big back too, whether it’s been Ricky Bell, James Wilder Jr., Mike Alstott, LeGarrette Blount or Fournette through the years.

Bucky Irving is the smallest back on the team at 5-foot-10, 195 pounds, while primary backup Kenneth Gainwell is 5-foot-9, 200 pounds. Third-string runner Sean Tucker is slightly bigger at 5-foot-10, 205 pounds. The good news is that all three of those backs have good speed and agility and are perfect fits for both the duo-gap scheme blocking that Tampa Bay’s offensive line has perfected over the years, in addition to the wide zone concepts that new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will be incorporating this year.

Wide zone scheme backs must be able to have the vision to see cutback lanes develop while running laterally, and then have the agility and acceleration to hit those holes. That’s why Rachaad White wasn’t going to be a great fit in Robinson’s wide zone runs because he was more slow and deliberate hitting holes. And that could be the case for most bigger backs, which is why I think Tampa Bay has opted for smaller and shiftier runners on this year’s roster.

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum, GM Jason Licht Join The Pewter Report Podcast This Week

Be sure to join us this week when Tampa Bay cornerback Zyon McCollum and general manager Jason Licht are the featured guests on the Pewter Report Podcast on Monday, May 11 and Wednesday, May 13, respectively. Both shows begin at 4:00 p.m. ET on the PewterReportTV YouTube channel.