The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without first-round pick Rueben Bain Jr. for the remainder of the preseason, but the early outlook on his availability for Week 1 is encouraging.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Bain suffered an AC sprain during Tampa Bay's joint practice with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Tuesday. The shoulder injury is not considered serious, and Bain is expected to be available when the Buccaneers open the regular season against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 13.
That effectively ends Bain's first NFL preseason after just one game played. The No. 15 overall pick made his debut against the Kansas City Chiefs in week two of the preseason and immediately provided a glimpse of why Tampa Bay invested a first-round selection in him.
Bain played only six defensive snaps but earned an 88.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, including a 90.4 pass-rush grade.
His absence Friday against Jacksonville shouldn't change much for the Bucs. With the regular-season opener still more than two weeks away, there is little reason to push one of the defense's most important young players through the preseason finale.
Bain has already worked his way into a prominent role on Tampa Bay's revamped defensive front and has been used both off the edge and inside throughout the summer. The bigger concern was whether Tuesday's injury could threaten his regular-season debut.
For now, that doesn't appear to be the case. The Bucs will lose another opportunity to get Bain live reps before the games begin to count, but having him healthy for Cincinnati matters considerably more than anything he could provide Friday night in Jacksonville.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucs rookie Rueben Bain Jr. sidelined with shoulder Injury
