Buccaneers 'Looked Into' Trade for NFC Edge Rusher Before Drafting Rueben Bain Jr.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were willing to go outside of the draft to try and land their edge rusher — but they saw the perfect fit fall to them at No. 15.

Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard (58) against the Los Angeles Rams during an NFC wild card game | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Things couldn't have worked out much better for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL Draft, and especially in the first round.

The Bucs needed a starting edge rusher badly, and it was a need they would certainly address at some point in the draft. They were reportedly interested in Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor, who was the most commonly-mocked player to them during the offseason, but they got a different Miami edge rusher when the board fell in their favor. Hurricanes star Rueben Bain Jr. fell all the way to No. 15, and the Buccaneers took him without hesitation, giving them what they hope will be a bona fide No. 1 at the position in 2026 and beyond.

Before that happened, though, the Buccaneers were exploring other options. It was previously known that general manager Jason Licht was in on Trey Hendrickson in free agency before he signed with the Baltimore Ravens, but ESPN's Jeremy Fowler revealed another interesting tidbit about Tampa Bay's draft process in a recent article.

Buccaneers 'looked into' Jonathan Greenard trade

Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard (58) poses during NFC Practice for the Pro Bowl Games | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In an article collecting draft intel from all 32 teams, Fowler mentioned that Licht and the Bucs were potentially looking into trading for Minnesota edge rusher Jonathan Greenard before Bain fell to Tampa Bay in the draft.

"Tampa had essentially scoured the earth for pass-rush help before landing on Rueben Bain Jr. in the first round," Fowler wrote. "The Bucs explored signing Trey Hendrickson in free agency. They looked into the trade market, including Jonathan Greenard, the Vikings pass rusher who was traded to Philadelphia this weekend."

Greenard played in just 12 games for the Vikings last year and had only three sacks, but before that, he had 24.5 combined sacks in 2023 and 2024. He's a veteran pass rusher with proven production, and it makes sense that Tampa Bay was in on a potential trade before they selected Bain — and before the Philadelphia Eagles actually traded for him during the draft.

The capital that the Eagles gave up, two third-round picks, would have been manageable for Tampa Bay, but the ensuing contract Greenard received would have been tough. The Eagles signed Greenard to a four-year, $100 million deal that included $50 million guaranteed, and that would have been quite a bit of money for Tampa Bay after it already signed a slew of free agents in the offseason.

The Bucs don't have to worry about that anymore, though. They got a player in Bain that they never thought would be there at No. 15, and he's primed to make an impact in Tampa Bay for much, much cheaper.

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