After narrowly escaping a career-ending spinal injury, Jalen McMillan returns with increased muscle and a vital mission: filling the void left by franchise icon Mike Evans in Tampa.
Last season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ WR Jalen McMillan had an injury that not only could have ended his career, but could have permanently affected his way of life.
In a preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, McMillan fractured his vertebrae and could have been paralyzed.
“I had to sit in my bed wondering whether or not my neck (was going to) heal correctly,” McMillan told reporters at OTAs Tuesday.
McMillan ended up working his way back and made his return against the Atlanta Falcons Dec. 11.
Two games later, he broke 100 yards for the first time as a pro, going off for 114 on seven receptions.
McMillan not only produced on the field, he also says that he’s back to where he was, and maybe even better.
“I think I returned to the same physical strength I was at before I got hurt, but then I'm able to add more muscle, so I'm getting stronger,” he said.
The Bucs will need McMillan to be stronger to account for the loss of Mike Evans.
The greatest receiver in franchise history and potential future Hall of Famer ended his 12-year run with the team by signing a three-year, $60 million deal with the San Francisco 49ers in March.
It will be hard for Bucs fans to see Evans in another uniform, but the good news is that the position group is well-equipped to account for his absence.
Along with McMillan, who should be formidable if he stays healthy, the Bucs have a pair of second-year studs in Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson.
Egbuka was the team’s 2025 first-round pick and played like it, ending the season as a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Johnson was drafted in the seventh-round and played well above his draft slot, going for 322 yards and five touchdowns on 28 catches.
We also can’t forget about Chris Godwin, who is now the veteran presence of Tampa’s room and happens to be the team’s all-time leading receiver not named Evans.
If that weren’t enough, the Bucs added a potential hidden gem in Georgia State’s Ted Hurst in the third round of this year’s draft.
“I wonder how good we’re going to be,” McMillan said.
He’s not alone in that curiosity. McMillan and everybody else will have to wait a while to find out how good these Bucs are going to be.
Training camp is still almost two months out, and the regular season is more than a month out from that. But what’s already clear is that McMillian has a new lease on life due to his injury that almost took his career. Now, he has a chance to make a name for himself in Year 3.
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