What should expectations be for Bucs' Jalen McMillan in 2025 and beyond?
With wide receiver Jalen McMillan still spotted wearing a neck brace nearly two months after suffering his preseason injury, the question around One Buc Place remains, "When will we see McMillan return?"
McMillan, entering his second year with the Buccaneers, suffered a severe neck sprain in August during a preseason matchup when he landed awkwardly while trying to haul in a deep pass. Tampa Bay initially labeled the injury as “week-to-week,” but as the regular season has unfolded, that timeline has only become murkier.
As of late October, McMillan remains in a hard neck brace and has yet to return to practice. While he’s been present at team meetings and occasionally seen on the sidelines during games, sources around the team have indicated that he’s still not cleared for any football activity, not even light workouts. The sight of McMillan still wearing the brace nearly 10 weeks after the injury underscores just how serious the sprain was. Neck injuries often require extensive recovery and stabilization periods, and medical clearance is typically conservative to avoid re-injury or long-term complications.
Team medical staff and head coach Todd Bowles have hammered down caution, with no firm timeline for McMillan’s return. Even if cleared to remove the brace soon, he would still need several weeks of strength rebuilding, conditioning, and non-contact work before any potential return to the field.
McMillan’s absence has been felt. After a strong rookie campaign in 2024, recording 37 receptions for 461 yards and eight touchdowns, he was expected to play a larger role as Tampa Bay’s versatile slot option behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin Jr.
Instead, the Buccaneers have leaned on rookie Emeka Egbuka and veteran Sterling Shepard to fill the gap.Given that McMillan is still immobilized in a brace, a mid- to late-December return appears to be the best-case scenario. A post-Week 13 comeback could align with a potential playoff push, but that depends on how quickly he can regain strength, flexibility, and confidence once cleared. Could Jalen McMillan return this season? Technically, yes, but the timelines aren’t promising yet. Until the brace comes off and he’s back on the practice field, the Buccaneers are preparing to move forward without him for the foreseeable future. If he does make it back before January, it would be one of the more inspiring comeback stories of the year.
For now, though, Tampa Bay’s receiving corps must keep finding ways to produce while their young playmaker focuses on the long road back to full health, even with Mike Evans out for most of the season and Godwin out with a fibula injury.
'No Ego Involved' For Eagles Unsung Hero
PHILADELPHIA - Maybe the unlikeliest aspect of the Eagles’ emphatic 38-20 divisional win of the New York Giants this past Sunday was the dominance of journeyman offensive lineman Brett Toth against one of the best defensive fronts in football.
You can make a strong argument that Toth, a six-year veteran making his fourth career start and first as a center, was the best player on a field littered with stars.
Pro Football Focus graded out Toth, 29, as the top player in the game who played starter-level snaps, thanks in large part to his movement skills and pulling ability as a run blocker in a game where Philadelphia ran for an NFL season-best 276 yards.
There was much consternation entering the game with Toth at center in place of the injured Cam Jurgens, with Landon Dickerson, a one-time All-American OC at Alabama, staying at left guard and helping Toth is a unique setup for handling protection calls.
In hindsight, the idea worked like gangbusters with what was the best offensive line performance of the season for the 6-2 Eagles.
“He played really [well.] He played really, really [well.],” offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo said on Tuesday when asked by Eagles On SI about Toth.
Outsiders have long considered Toth, a versatile player who came out of Army as a tackle and can play all five O-Line positions in a pinch, as a non-starter in the pivot because of shotgun snap issues in the past while trying to learn the position in practice.
Eagles OL coach Jeff Stoutland / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI
However, well-regarded offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland sees a cerebral player with violent hands who is a valuable game-day backup commodity because of that versatility.
On Sunday, things were clean on the snapping front, helped along by more work under center, enabling observers to see the meat and potatoes of Toth’s game, which melds a high football IQ with outstanding athleticism.
“I mean, the guy's extremely smart,” Patullo said of a player who earned a degree in nuclear engineering. “He's detailed. He comes to work every day, he works his butt off constantly in the classroom. He asks really good questions. He's out in front of things. He wants to know the plan inside and out and you can feel his detail and his energy out there.”
Perhaps it’s his Service Academy background, but there is also very little ego in Toth, a player who tends to be very hard on himself.
“For me, it's never gonna be a woe is me,” Toth said.” ... There's no ego involved. Either I'm the guy that can help the team be successful, or if I'm not, I need to help the guy who's in that position.”
The endgame is simple for Toth.
“What do you do the next day to get better?" he said.
After Sunday’s performance against the Giants, however, Toth can afford to use the bye week as a pause button. It would be tough to get better than the 60 minutes of football he had against the Giants.
"He wants to be good in every area and do anything he can for this team," Patullo said.
