Todd Bowles Down In The Dumps About Jalen McMillan Injury
August 20th, 2025
Bucs coach Todd Bowles reacts.
Yesterday morning, Jenna Laine of ESPN reported Bucs receiver Jalen McMillan would in fact be placed on injured reserve.
That would mean he must sit out a minimum of four games.
Today, Bowles was asked again about McMillan, who suffered a “severely” strained neck when he was undercut by Steelers camp meat corner Daryl Porter in the Bucs’ second worthless preseason game on Saturday night. Bowles was downright bummed out.
Bowles thought McMillan had a tremendous offseason and training camp and thought he was just about to take off as a top-shelf receiver.
“That’s tough from a coaching and a playing standpoint,” Bowles said. “He was doing so well coming back this summer. He was very polished, gets his routes, and he competes on a daily basis.
“[He is] real close with everybody on the team, so that was a big blow for us.”
Bowles was asked if a player were to be injured, is it better in preseason than later in the year.
“I don’t think there’s a good time for it to happen,” Bowles said, “but it’s a shame because his growth and his potential was off the wall. [I’m] glad it’s not life-threatening. Glad he can come back later on.”
Given how the Bucs are so secretive about Chris Godwin’s return, Joe is starting to suspect Godwin will be placed on the PUP list, meaning he also will miss four games minimum.
Let’s say Godwin is on the PUP list and can return quickly. If both Godwin and McMillan can get back on the field beginning Week 5 at Seattle, that would be a helluva boost for the offense.