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        Jalen McMillan To Miss Start Of Season With Neck Injury

        By Jared Smola | Updated on Tue, Aug 19 2025 5:46 PM UTC
        Jalen McMillan Headshot

        Buccaneers WR Jalen McMillan is expected to miss the start of the season after suffering a "severely strained neck" in the second preseason game, according to HC Todd Bowles. Bowles added that the injury "shouldn't be" career threatening. We'll look for a more concrete timeline for McMillan's return.

        Update: McMillan will be placed on IR and "could be out past the Bucs Week 9 bye week," according to The Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud.

        2025 Fantasy Football Impact

        This is a significant loss for a Buccaneers team that is also expected to be without WR Chris Godwin (ankle) to open the season.

        It guarantees that rookie WR Emeka Egbuka will be in a top-two role right out of the gate. Sterling Shepard, Trey Palmer, and rookie Tez Johnson will be in the mix for No. 3 WR snaps, but none is rosterable in fantasy football.

        WR Mike Evans and TE Cade Otton should also get target boosts with Godwin and McMillan out.

        Jared Smola Author Image
        Jared Smola, Lead Analyst
        Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and in-season tools. He currently ranks ninth among 173 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.

        In This Article

        Jalen McMillan
        TB WR
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        Mike Evans
        TB WR
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        Sterling Shepard
        TB WR
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        Cade Otton
        TB TE
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        Trey Palmer
        NO WR
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        Emeka Egbuka
        TB WR
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        Tez Johnson
        TB WR
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