September 1 Updates
The Buccaneers drafted Miami pass-rushing dynamo Rueben Bain Jr. with the 15th overall pick in this year's draft and wasted little time installing him in the starting lineup, where he is expected to add significant juice to the edge rush rotation. On Tuesday, both General Manager Jason Licht and Head Coach Todd Bowles shared matching opinions that the team's current outside linebacker rotation has the greatest depth of talent than at another point in their respective tenures in Tampa.
As such, it would have been a bit disappointing to start the regular season without Bain's services, and that at least looked like a possibility when the rookie was pulled from last Tuesday's joint practice in Jacksonville due to a shoulder issue. Fortunately, Bain was back on the practice field a week later and Bowles anticipates him suiting up against the Bengals in Week One.
"We were expecting him to play," said Bowles. "He said he's feeling good, so we're going to roll with that. He feels good and we're going to play with it."
Wide receivers Emeka Egbuka (toe) and Jalen McMillan (knee), conversely, remained sidelined on Tuesday morning and both have missed multiple weeks of work with their injuries. There is still, however, optimism that both will be back in action in Week One.
"I'll feel better when I see next week," said Bowles. "Right now, they're day by day, week by week. We'll see how they come along next week."
Offensive tackle Benjamin Chukwuma and rookie guard Billy Schrauth were also back in the mix on Tuesday after missing time with minor injuries, but tackle Justin Skule and linebacker Christian Rozeboom remained out. Bowles wasn't sure if Rozeboom will recover in time for the Cincinnati game.
"He's dealing with a foot injury," said the coach. "He's doing some running. I don't know how far away he'll be. He'll be close. We'll see if he makes it."
CLICK HERE for more of Coach Bowles' thoughts after practice on Tuesday.
