Jalen

McMillan

McMillan was limited in practice this week but will need at least one more week to recover from the neck injury he suffered in the Buccaneers’ second preseason game. McMillan is eligible to return at any time now that the Buccaneers have opened his 21-day return window. It’s possible he’ll be activated in time for Week 15’s Thursday night matchup against the Falcons.

McMillan is unlikely to be fantasy-relevant in re-draft leagues, potentially vying for targets against WR Chris Godwin (fibula) and WR Mike Evans (collarbone), if all players are active against the Saints this weekend. McMillan does give QB Baker Mayfield (shoulder) another target to rely on, though.

McMillan has been sidelined since the preseason with a neck injury, but could return for the stretch run. He could be active as early as this week against the Panthers, though it remains to be seen how the Bucs would deploy him. Mike Evans’ eventual return from injured reserve would further complicate things for McMillan’s playing time. He should remain on waiver wires for now.

Per Rapoport, McMillan received clearance to return to practice from spine specialist Dr. Robert Watkins. McMillan landed on his head during a preseason game and suffered a severe neck injury. The good news is that, for as scary as the injury was, it was not expected to end his season. He was placed on injured reserve and has been out ever since. The Bucs will open his practice window this week, giving them three weeks to officially activate him from injured reserve.

Bowles said he doesn’t know when the receiver will return to practice and could only provide an “I hope so” when asked if McMillan would play this season. He was projected to be out past the Week 9 bye, so this isn’t exactly a negative update, but it’s clear that we’re not a lot closer to McMillan making a debut this season and it wouldn’t be surprising if he didn’t play at all in 2025.

We’ve gone from McMillan “avoiding anything major” to him being out half the season through the last two days. McMillan starting on IR will give runway to Emeka Egbuka to be a major contributor to Tampa Bay’s offense immediately. It also may give supporting options like Cade Otton more of a share than they’d normally have as Tampa threads the needle early without McMillan and Chris Godwin. McMillan isn’t a must-hold in shallow leagues based on this reported timeline.

McMillan landed awkwardly on a diving grab during last week’s preseason tilt against the Steelers and suffered what Bowles described as a “severely strained neck” that will cost him regular season games. Bowles said the neck injury shouldn’t threaten McMillan’s playing career. McMillan’s absence and the likely absence of Chris Godwin (ankle) means Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka will dominate looks from Baker Mayfield. Trey Palmer now has a chance to work as Tampa’s WR3 for the early part of the season.

McMillan suffered what appeared to be a nasty injury in Saturday’s outing against the Steelers, but was reportedly “in good spirits over the weekend and sore” the following day. The second-year receiver is battling for playing time behind vets Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and is facing additional competition from rookie Emeka Egbuka, who hauled in an impressive five-yard score over the weekend. McMillan isn’t expected to have any fantasy value out of the gate, but could profile as a WR3/WR4 for fantasy should anybody miss time with injury.

McMillian was cut down by Steelers DB Darryl Porter on a contested catch and landed on his neck. The second-year receiver was subsequently folded in half upon hitting the ground and remained down after the play. Thankfully, and surprisingly, he was able to walk off under his own power before eventually being carted to the locker room. Although he was seen sporting a neck brace after the game, McMillan was cleared to fly home with the team. McMillan isn’t expected to make much of an impact to start the season, but could have some value on the outside if Mike Evans were to ever miss time. He caught one pass for 18 yards in Saturday’s game. It was also reported later by the team’s site that McMillan was being evaluated for a concussion.

McMillan streaked downfield and beat Titans CB Darrell Baker Jr. on a tumbling contested catch. He played the first two drives with starting QB Kyle Trask and that was it. McMillan could be a worthwhile post-hype dart throw.