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Will Jalen McMillan start for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he returns? John breaks down the Jalen McMillan return timeline for Week 9 and fantasy football outlook.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Jalen McMillan (neck) has been slowly rehabbing a severe neck sprain that he suffered in a preseason game this year.
He picked up the aliment when he leapt to make a catch, was hit by a defender, and flipped over backwards, landing upside down and with his head and neck taking the brunt of the blow. It looked nasty.
Thankfully, he didn't suffer a full fracture. But just recently, we learned that he has broken bones in his neck. Considering that and with how much has changed in Tampa Bay's offense in the meantime, will he be a starter when he returns?
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Will Jalen McMillan Start For The Buccaneers When He Returns?
It's unclear right now. It depends on the return timetable, of course. Right now, the team's wide receivers that are expected to be healthy when McMillan returns are Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin (fibula), and Tez Johnson. Godwin is working his way back from a leg injury and hasn't played much this year.
Egbuka has emerged as the team's clear No. 1 target, a role he's unlikely to relinquish that role. When Godwin returns and gets fully healthy, he should slot into a WR2 or even WR1B role behind Egbuka. It's possible he plays a lot in the slot, like he did last year, but he's still talented.
And Johnson has made an impact this season in the absence of other WRs. Mike Evans (collarbone), the team's longtime WR, is set to miss potentially all of the rest of the regular season, so he's not a factor right now, though he could return for the fantasy playoffs.
J MAC WITH THE CATCH 🤯
📺: #MIAvsTB on WFLA pic.twitter.com/NbWv74gva3
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) August 23, 2024
McMillan finished the season hot last year, and looked to build off of that, but there's some serious competition ahead of him. It's hard to say whether he'll be in the top-3 wideouts, but it seems that he'll claim the WR3 job from Johnson, who is a rookie.
Johnson has been solid this year so far, but he still has a lot to learn, and has made his share of rookie mistakes. Where he excels is with the ball in his hands after the catch, where he's highly elusive and can make defenders miss. He's also an underrated route-runner.
For what it's worth, I think Johnson is overall a better talent than McMillan, but we might need to wait until next season to see him get a bigger role. For now, it's reasonable to think McMillan will be the WR3 when he returns. We don't have a timetable for his return yet.
Jalen McMillan Fantasy Football Outlook
He wasn't put on season-ending injured reserve, but the recent revelation that he has at least one broken bone in his neck likely means we won't see him for a while. In that case, he might not have much of an outlook at all. Perhaps the Buccaneers didn't place him on season-ending injured reserve in the hopes he could make it back for the NFL playoffs.
I would err on the side of "dude, he has a broken bone in his neck, he really should NOT play football again this season". A broken neck is not something to be trifled with. I'd be incredibly worried about a potential aggravation of the injury, or something along those lines.
And even if he can return, a full-time role with that kind of injury in the recent past doesn't make a lot of sense. Of course, I'm not his doctor, but it's well-known that players rush themselves back from injuries all the time, often to their detriment. Then again, football is a seriously injurious sport.
I don't expect McMillan to return for the regular season. And if he does, he probably won't be fantasy relevant.
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Popular Week 9 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
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