Josiah Trotter Jr. made the biggest impression in Tampa Bay's 33-27 loss to Cincinnati, putting together a debut that landed him in the NFL record book. Trotter finished with a team high of 10 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, a quarterback hit, a pass breakup, and a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown. He became the first player since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 to record a sack and a pick-six in his NFL debut. He also became just the second player to record a sack, an interception, and at least five tackles in his debut, joining T.J. Watt. The Bucs gave Trotter a starting role immediately, and he looked comfortable with the responsibility. His pick-six of Joe Burrow helped Tampa Bay work its way back into the game,
while his third-down sack gave the defense its only sack of the afternoon.
Rueben Bain Jr. had a much quieter debut. The first-round pick didn't record a tackle or sack and wasn't able to create the same consistent disruption the Bucs saw from him during the preseason. Bain spent much of the afternoon working against Bengals right tackle Amarius Mims, giving him a difficult matchup in his first regular-season game, as Mims is 6'8 and 330 pounds with 36-inch arms. Bain's numbers won't stand out, but one game doesn't change what Tampa Bay saw throughout the summer.
On offense, Ted Hurst III made the most of a limited role. Hurst caught all three of his targets for 36 yards, averaging 12 yards per reception. With Jalen McMillan sidelined, Hurst was part of the group asked to help fill those missing snaps and gave Baker Mayfield another reliable option when the ball came his way. Keionte Scott also got his first regular-season work in a secondary that was tested by Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. Scott finished with four solo tackles and saw his role become more important after Jacob Parrish left the game with a back injury. Benjamin Morrison received the larger increase in snaps, but Scott was still able to get meaningful work in his first NFL game..
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Rookie Report: Week 1
