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: How many sacks do you think Rueben Bain Jr. will have this season? Over/under 6.5.
ANSWER: This is a great question and something I have pondered for a while since Tampa Bay drafted outside linebacker Rueben Bain Jr. with its first-round pick. Bain is coming off a career-high 9.5-sack season at Miami, and he totaled 20.5 sacks in three years. As a freshman in 2023, Bain had 7.5 sacks in 13 games and then had 3.5 sacks in nine games as a sophomore. So he’s shown he can really get after the quarterback.
Fellow first-round pick Akheem Mesidor, who was drafted by the Chargers, had 12.5 sacks playing opposite him at defensive end, and Hurricanes defensive tackle Ahmad Moten played next to Bain and had 4.5 sacks. So how many potential sacks did Bain help create for others because he was the one drawing more double teams and getting more attention from opposing offensive coordinators when it came to game plans?
Bucs OLB Rueben Bain Jr. – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Kim Klement
Bain was a force multipler at Miami, and I think he’ll be that way in Tampa Bay, too – helping to create sack opportunities for his Bucs teammates. At the same time, I do think he has the ability to get his own sacks, especially in one-on-one situations. Bain is a gifted pass rusher with tremendous bend and ankle flexion that allows him to win his rush at the top of the arc and turn the corner and get to the quarterback. And he has a lot of strength in his core and lower body that allows him to win with speed-to-power.
Yaya Diaby was a one-year wonder at Louisville where he had nine sacks as a senior after having just 1.5 the year prior. Yet he led the Bucs in sacks as a rookie with 7.5 – even though he didn’t start until halfway through his first season in Tampa Bay. I could see Bain putting up a similar rookie campaign, especially opposite Diaby and alongside defensive tackles Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey, who may get more double teams than the rookie will face.
With 6.5 being your mark, I might take the over and suggest seven or even 7.5. I think Bain should finish his rookie somewhere between 5-8 sacks, and if that happens, he should be in contention for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
QUESTION: Can you guys make a uniform schedule prediction? Some good opportunities to wear the all-pewter uniforms – in Dallas or on Monday Night Football vs. Carolina.
ANSWER: My hope is that the pewter jersey – and thus the all-pewter ensemble – returns in 2026. I’ve been told that’s in the works for this season, after the team pivoted away from the pewter jerseys and to the creamiscle uniforms upon their return in 2023, and then launched the 1976 all-white throwbacks with the orange numbers last year to commemorate the franchise’s 50th season.
We here at Pewter Report are fond of the pewter jerseys – and everything pewter, really. I’ve lobbied the powers that be for their return this year and I think it’s going to happen. However, it likely won’t be used in primetime, as it’s an alternate look. So I doubt the Bucs will break it out on Thursday Night Football in Dallas, at Chicago on Sunday Night Football or at home on Monday Night Football versus Carolina, but we’ll see. The team likes to wear red jerseys in primetime when they can, and I would suspect we’ll see either red jerseys and white pants or red jerseys and pewter pants in Dallas and at home against the Panthers.
Bucs WRs Chris Godwin and Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
I’m not a fan of the all-white uniforms with the pewter helmet, as the Bucs’ colors are red and pewter. So my hope is that the all-white 1976 uniforms with the white Bucco Bruce helmets will be used against the Browns and the Vikings to start the season at home instead. Then the Bucs could wear the white jerseys with the pewter pants at home against the Vikings, Steelers and Falcons. The Bucs will break out their red jerseys at home against the Panthers, Chargers, Saints and Rams.
If I had to guess, I would say the creamsicle jerseys would be used for a rematch with the Falcons in Week 8, the Chargers in Week 13 or the Saints in Week 15. As for the pewter jerseys, if an away team doesn’t wear white at home, I could see the Bucs wind up wearing them for a preseason game – either home or away – just to have those jerseys see the light of day again. I would also like to see them wear the pewter jerseys maybe with the white pants on the road in Week 1 at Cincinnati, who will likely be in all-white for their home opener.
QUESTION: Which players, on either side of the ball, have the most to prove this season?
ANSWER: Great question. There are multiple players on each side of the ball that have the most to prove, so please allow me to offer up two offensive players and three defensive players. On offense, wide receiver Chris Godwin Jr. has to return to form as a 1,000-yard receiver this year – or close to it – to justify his $22 million price tag at age 30. If he doesn’t have a big bounce-back year he could be in jeopardy of being a salary cap casualty in 2027, or a candidate to take a rather sizeable pay cut. We saw the Bucs do that to cornerback Jamel Dean prior to the 2026 campaign.
The other offensive player that has a lot to prove is right guard Cody Mauch. He’s returning from a season-ending knee injury last year and he’s entering a contract year. Is Mauch all the way back from his injury? Can he return to form as a possible Pro Bowl talent? We’ll find out during the 2026 season.
Bucs CBs Benjamin Morrison and Zyon McCollum – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
On defense, two cornerbacks have a lot to prove in veteran Zyon McCollum and second-year player Benjamin Morrison. McCollum was given a lucrative contract extension prior to his contract year and was a disappointment. He has to prove he’s worth the money and become the lockdown cornerback this team thinks he’s capable of becoming. For Morrison, it’s overcoming the constant hamstring injuries and proving that he’s a starting-caliber cornerback. Last year’s second-round pick will face stiff competition from Jacob Parrish for the right to replace Dean as the starter opposite McCollum.
And finally, defensive tackle Calijah Kancey must prove that he can stay healthy. Kancey has missed 22 games in his first three seasons in Tampa Bay, including all but three games last year. The team picked up his fifth-year option for 2027, but it remains to be seen if he’ll continue to wear red and pewter beyond then. Kancey has to play the majority of games this year and prove he isn’t fragile.
QUESTION: After rookie mini-camp, free agent acquisitions and upcoming OTAs, who’s your early prediction for surprise starter on offense and defense?
ANSWER: I’m not sure if there will be any surprise starters, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The starters on mostly set there, and we know that newcomer Kenneth Gainwell will share carries and touches with Bucky Irving at running back. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles told me at the NFL Annual Meeting that Irving will be 1A and Gainwell will be 1B, as opposed to Nos. 1 and 2 in the backfield.
Would it be a surprise if rookie wide receiver Ted Hurst, the team’s third-round pick, plays a lot and starts at the X receiver position? I don’t think so. And I don’t think it would be a surprise to see rookie tight end Bauer Sharp, the sixth-rounder, find his way on to the roster ahead of either Devin Culp or Ko Kieft and see some playing time this year.
Bucs TE Bauer Sharp – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Defensively, we know that A’Shawn Robinson will start at the 4i/5-technique defensive tackle spot and that Alex Anzalone will replace Lavonte David at the Moneybacker spot on the weak side. No surprises there.
Would you be surprised if Keionte Scott starts at nickelback while Jacob Parrish replaces Jamel Dean as the starting outside cornerback? Would it be a surprise if Parish beats out Benjamin Morrison? I don’t think so.
And would it be a surprise if Josiah Trotter, Tampa Bay’s second-round pick, starts at middle linebacker? Would you be shocked to see SirVocea Dennis or Christian Rozeboom start the season off there if Trotter isn’t quite ready? I wouldn’t.
If you are looking for an upset, maybe it’s at quarterback if undrafted free agent Jalon Daniels plays well enough in the preseason to earn a roster spot at QB3, beating out Connor Bazelak. Or maybe he plays well enough to really challenge Jake Browning for the backup role behind Baker Mayfield? I’m not saying that is going to happen, but that’s really the only thing I can think of that would classify as a real surprise right now.