Report: Buccaneers’ WR Has Broken Bones In Neck

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Jalen McMillan had a promising rookie season last year. Unfortunately he hasn’t played this year due to a preseason neck injury that head coach Todd Bowles NOW says includes broken bones.

The injury occurred when McMillan leaped for a catch and was hit by a Pittsburgh Steelers defender, causing him to land awkwardly on his neck. Bowles revealed that McMillan broke bones in his neck, and while the receiver is progressing in his rehab, there’s no clear timeline for his return. McMillan remains in a neck brace with no target date to get back on the field, leaving his potential return to uncertain.

Bowles’ description of Jalen McMillan’s neck injury on Ira Kaufman’s podcast painted a more concerning picture than initially thought. What was previously downplayed as a “strain” now appears more severe, with the report of broken bones in McMillan’s neck.

“He’s still in the brace, but he’s getting better. He’s getting better,” Bowles stated, via ESPN. “But necks are not like ankles or arms where you see progress where you can lift on ‘em and work ‘em out when you’re still on the brace and you say, ‘Oh, he looks good today. He’s getting stronger, he is getting faster.’ It’s a neck injury. And those, like you said, it’s a life thing if it doesn’t heal the right way. So they’re saying it’s healing the right way.”

Jalen McMillan’s return to the field remains uncertain, with no clear timeline for his recovery.

“Until he puts on a helmet and it starts working out and everything else, you just don’t know,” Bowles stated. “I don’t know what getting better means as well because they say it’s not like you can see inside the neck and say, ‘Well he’s moving it a lot better.’ I’m sure he can turn it, but it’s just a matter of the bones healing the right way, and those are such difficult bones to judge inside the neck. And I’m not in a 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.”