Raekwon McMillan’s NFL run is over.
The former Ohio State linebacker, who was taken in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft, announced his retirement after eight seasons in the league and time with four different franchises. He had spent last season without a team before making the decision public on social media.
“Always for the name on the back of my jersey! 8 years flew by, but this next chapter is going to be my best chapter.
I hope I made y’all proud! #retirement.”
McMillan arrived in Columbus with plenty of hype behind him. The Liberty County (Hinesville, Georgia) product was ranked No. 13 on ESPN’s 300 in 2014 and was already viewed as a major prospect before his college career even began.
He wasted little time making an impact at Ohio State. As a true freshman, McMillan backed up Curtis Grant at middle linebacker, but he still played regularly for Urban Meyer’s team. That season, he finished with 54 combined tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks and one interception as Ohio State won the national championship by beating Oregon 42-20 in the first ever College Football Playoff title game.
By his sophomore season, McMillan had taken over in the middle. Over the next three years, he piled up more than 220 combined tackles, along with 11 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks.
Those years at Ohio State put him firmly on the NFL radar. NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks ranked him as the second-best middle linebacker in the 2015 draft class, and Miami made him the 54th overall pick.
The Dolphins initially planned to use him at strongside linebacker as a rookie, but his career hit a major setback almost immediately. In Miami’s first preseason game that year, McMillan suffered an ACL injury that wiped out his entire first season.
He eventually settled in as Miami’s starting middle linebacker for the next two years, starting 28 of 29 games. But after finishing the 2019 season on injured reserve because of a hamstring injury, he was traded to the Raiders ahead of the 2020 season. In Las Vegas, he started four of the 16 games he played.
McMillan then signed with the Patriots as a free agent, but another ACL injury during offseason workouts cost him the entire 2021 season, this time on the other knee.
He returned in 2022 and played in 16 games, making one start. But in 2023, a torn Achilles’ tendon during OTA’s sent him back to surgery and rehab for another full year.
McMillan made it back onto the field again in 2024, appearing in nine games and starting four, before being waived late in the season. He then caught on with the Titans for the final two games of the year.
It’s a career that never quite matched the expectations attached to him at Ohio State, but McMillan’s ability to keep coming back after each setback stood out just as much as anything he did on the field.
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