June 3, 2026, 5:00 p.m. PT
After a stellar rookie season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, former Washington Huskies star wide receiver Jalen McMillan had his second NFL campaign derailed by fractured vertebrae in his neck.
The injury limited him to just four games in 2025, during which he recorded 12 catches for 178 yards, and now that he’s healthy, he’s looking to take a big step forward in his third year. With All-Pro Mike Evans leaving in free agency for the San Francisco 49ers, McMillan should have a golden opportunity to establish himself alongside All-Pro Chris Godwin and former first-round pick Emeka Egbuka as one of the primary targets for quarterback Baker Mayfield this fall.
“I am happy,” McMillan told Pewter Report. “Just to be out there and to catch balls from Baker and just to run on my feet, I feel good…I am definitely taking appreciation for the small things and celebrating small wins, and call my mom and dad every day. I am not taking any relationship for granted, so life has been good.”
“I had to sit in my bed and wonder, ‘Is my neck going to heal correctly?’ So, as soon as I was given the opportunity to play again, I knew that I could not look back and there was no time to be nervous and no time to be thinking about anything.”
Now that he’s back in the mix, McMillan could quickly prove himself as one of Tampa Bay’s top pass catchers, after hauling in 7 touchdowns in a five-game span to close out the 2024 season. While his physical skill set is vital, head coach Todd Bowles was quick to praise the former third-round pick’s mental toughness.
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“Jalen’s tough. His mental toughness is unbelievable,” Bowles said. “His competitiveness, the way he attacks the ball, the way he fights for every route and tries to get open and wants to be ‘that guy,’ you know, that gives you a lot of confidence that he’ll be doing that in the games.”