Jan 5, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Jalen McMillan (15) celebrates after catching a pass in the second half against the New Orleans Saints at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Buccaneers WR’s injury proves more serious than team hoped

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Buccaneers on SI
By Caleb Skinner | Last updated Oct 31, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' wide receiver has been decimated once again this season. The Bucs have been without Chris Godwin for the majority of the season, and Mike Evans was lost for what is speculated to be the remainder of the regular season.

The two injuries to their stars at the wideout are the focus of many, but the Bucs have also been without second-year WR Jalen McMillan for the season, and that could perhaps linger from the initial rehab timeline of him returning following the team's week 9 bye after head coach Todd Bowles gave an update on his recovery during an interview on the Ira Kaufman Podcast.

Todd Bowles opens up on status of Jalen McMillan

Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

“It’s just a matter of the bones healing the right way,” Bowles said. “And those are such difficult bones to judge inside the neck, and I’m not in the medical profession, but he’s coming along. I think he’s in good spirits. And I think he’s getting a lot better, I just don’t know how close.”

The neck injury suffered by McMillan occurred during the team's second preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers when he went up for a catch before a Steelers' defender undercut him, sending him flipping upside down and onto his neck.

McMillan's injury was initially reported as a severe neck strain, with his timetable to return to the field sometime after the team's bye week. That diagnosis apparently was incorrect, as Bowles cleared up that McMillan, in fact, broke bones in his neck during the same podcast interview.

Neck injuries are never good to play around with, so it was wise for the Bucs to be cautious from the beginning to make sure McMillan couldn't further injure himself by coming back too soon.

With the news now broken that McMillan had indeed broken bones in his neck, it will be interesting to see if he will be able to take the field at all in 2025. Bowles wasn't able to give any timeline for McMillan's return, so we could very well be looking at a situation where he either makes his return in the playoffs or misses the season completely, turning his eyes to a bounce-back campaign in 2026 next to Emeka Egbuka.