Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Jalen McMillan will miss time in the regular season due to a neck injury.

Head coach Todd Bowles announced that McMillan would be sidelined due to a “severely strained neck” and will miss “some time.” Bowles added that as of now, McMillan has not been placed on injured reserve (which would force him to miss at least four weeks of the regular season). He will be out at least through the Sept. 7 opener against the Atlanta Falcons, according to Bowles.

The injury occurred in the first quarter of Saturday’s preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers after McMillan jumped in an attempt to make a catch, when he was undercut by Steelers defensive back Daryl Porter – causing McMillan to land on the back of his head. After being attended to by the medical staff, McMillan was able to walk off the field before being taken to a local hospital for evaluation, per sources, and was cleared to fly home with the team in a neck brace. He was later seen in a neck brace Tuesday during the Buccaneers practice.

McMillan was a third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Washington, where he caught 37 passes for 461 yards and eight touchdowns.  His injury is the latest hit for the Bucs, whose other WR Chris Godwin is recovering from ankle surgery and is still on the active/PUP list. If Godwin and McMillan are out for lengthy stretches, 2025 first-round draft pick Emeka Egbuka and veteran Mike Evans will take on bigger roles (Egbuka was the 19th overall pick out of Ohio State).

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