Buccaneers wide receiver Jalen McMillan had a promising rookie season last year, but he hasn’t played at all this year because of a preseason neck injury that coach Todd Bowles says includes broken bones.
The injury, which had previously been described as a “strain,” sounded more serious based on the way Bowles described it on [Ira Kaufman’s podcast](https://www.joebucsfan.com/2025/10/special-guest-todd-bowles-talks-trade-deadline-and-a-whole-lot-more/).
“He’s still in the brace, but he’s getting better. He’s getting better,” Bowles said, via ESPN. “But [necks are not like ankles or arms](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46796032/bucs-jalen-mcmillan-broken-neck-bone-todd-bowles-says) where you see progress where you can lift on ‘em and work ‘em out when you’re still on the brace and you say, ‘Oh, he looks good today. He’s getting stronger, he is getting faster.’ It’s a neck injury. And those, like you said, it’s a life thing if it doesn’t heal the right way. So they’re saying it’s healing the right way.”
It’s unclear when McMillan will be able to get back on the field.
“Until he puts on a helmet and it starts working out and everything else, you just don’t know,” Bowles said. “I don’t know what getting better means as well because they say it’s not like you can see inside the neck and say, ‘Well he’s moving it a lot better.’ I’m sure he can turn it, but it’s just a matter of the bones healing the right way, and those are such difficult bones to judge inside the neck. And I’m not in a medical profession, but he’s coming along. I think he’s in good spirits, and I think he’s getting a lot better. I just don’t know how close.”