{"id":270529,"date":"2026-05-14T06:28:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T06:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/270529\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T06:28:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T06:28:13","slug":"espns-matt-bowen-likes-the-idea-of-rueben-bain-jr-in-tampa-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/270529\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN’s Matt Bowen likes the idea of Rueben Bain Jr. in Tampa Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"

May 13, 2026, 7:55 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

Matt Bowen of ESPN recently explained<\/a> why Rueben Bain Jr. landed in one of the best possible situations after the draft, pointing directly to how Todd Bowles structures his defense in Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

Bowen highlighted Bain\u2019s physical style of play and ability to impact both phases of defense rather than functioning strictly as a speed-based pass rusher. In Tampa, that’s a big deal; EDGE defenders are expected to handle multiple responsibilities instead of just rushing the passer every snap in Bowles defensive scheme.<\/p>\n

The fit becomes more interesting when looking at how Bowles creates pressure. Tampa Bay frequently uses movement across the defensive front, including loops, stunts, and interior pass-rush alignments in sub-packages. Bain\u2019s strength and flexibility give the defense another player capable of moving around instead of staying locked into one role.<\/p>\n

That versatility is part of why the Buccaneers<\/a> stayed patient during the draft and drafted Bain. Tampa Bay needed more disruption after producing only 37 sacks in 2025, but the coaching staff also values edge defenders who can hold up physically against the run.<\/p>\n

Bain\u2019s role likely starts as a rotational defender with heavy usage in pressure packages, but the overall projection points toward a player Tampa Bay believes can eventually become a foundational piece of the front seven.<\/p>\n

Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"May 13, 2026, 7:55 p.m. ET Matt Bowen of ESPN recently explained why Rueben Bain Jr. landed in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270530,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[31,116056,2321,12531,298,336,442,96,300,2052,135,137,136,34],"class_list":["post-270529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-accessfree","tag-sourcebucs-wire","tag-sstssportsnflbuccaneers","tag-sstsnbuccaneers","tag-tagamerican-football","tag-tagespn-inc","tag-tagnfl-hub","tag-tagoverall-positive","tag-tagsports-news","tag-tagtampa-bay-buccaneers","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-typestory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}