This wasn't the beginning to Rueben Bain Jr.'s career that was expected after he dominated practices all offseason.

For months, it was looking more and more miraculous that Bain fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 15th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Bain quickly became the most hyped and anticipated rookie for the Bucs in years. He started the offseason earning praise for his football IQ. Then he drew comparisons to NFL great James Harrison. Bucs legend Lavonte David, who retired in March, expressed dismay at calling it a career before getting a chance to play with Bain.

Finally, Bain took the field last Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, whose offensive line has been a weakness for years. It seemed like a great matchup for Bain to start his career with a bang.

Instead, Bain was a non-factor. He recorded only one  tackle, and could not generate any pressure against quarterback Joe Burrow. 

To say it was a disappointing debut would be a major understatement. Bain's quiet game was all it took for his critics to come out in force and bring back the pre-draft concerns about his arm length.

It was still only one game, so the criticism appeared both harsh and hasty. With the Cleveland Browns coming to town in Week 2, it looked like a great opportunity for Bain to bounce back. The Browns gave up five sacks in Week 1 and looked like one of the NFL's worst teams.

Unfortunately, Bain was invisible once again, as the Bucs fell to the Browns 23-19 in a humiliating upset.

Against Cleveland, Bain was completely kept off the stat sheet. He followed up his one-tackle effort last week with zero tackles on Sunday. He couldn't generate any pressure against Browns' tackles Spencer Fano and Tytus Howard.

Fano was drafted ninth overall, six spots ahead of Bain. Bain wanted to make Cleveland look foolish for passing on him.

Instead, he made the Browns look like geniuses.

Again, two games does not define anyone's career, let alone a rookie. But this is not the player we saw in OTAs, training camp, and joint practices.

The game against the Browns saw not one, but two players notch their first-career sack. David Walker, who missed his entire rookie season last year with a torn ACL, got to Cleveland QB Deshaun Watson. As did fourth-round rookie cornerback Keionte Scott.

Nothing from Bain.

It isn't time to panic. But it is time to have legitimate concerns.

Bain's disappearing act over the first two weeks has been a major reason for the Bucs starting the season 0-2.

Losing on the road at Cincinnati is forgivable. Losing at home to Cleveland isn't.

For a team looking to put last season's 2-7 collapse down the stretch in the rear-view mirror, this season could not have gotten off to a worse start. Bain hasn't made any impact. Baker Mayfield hasn't played like a QB worth the three-year, $165 million contract extension he signed right before the season.

Calls for Todd Bowles' job are about to get very loud. He began the campaign already on the hot seat. Now that seat is going to be scorching. Bowles is supposed to be a defensive wizard. His failures to get anything out of his prized rookie are going to be put under a microscope.

Things are very bad in Tampa. Bain's underwhelming start to his career isn't the only problem.

But it is one of the biggest. And possibly the most unexpected.