The Tampa Bay Buccaneers can’t seem to catch a break, and now they’re bracing for another long absence.
Wide receiver Jalen McMillan is expected to miss 6-8 weeks after an MRI revealed a sprained PCL, according to ESPN’s Jenna Laine. McMillan left Sunday’s game early with a knee injury, and the early outlook points to a significant stretch on the sideline.
Update: It’s a PCL sprain for Bucs wide receiver Jalen McMillan, per source. The second opinion will give much more clarity on the timetable for recovery, but the early thinking is this could be 6-8 weeks, which factors in his previous timetable.
- JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) September 28, 2026
That’s another tough hit for a Tampa Bay team already dealing with the loss of Baker Mayfield, who is set to miss at least three weeks with a thumb injury. McMillan was supposed to have a major role in Zac Robinson’s offense, but instead he’s facing significant missed time for the second straight season.
The injury history is starting to pile up for the young receiver. McMillan has appeared in only 19 of a possible 37 games early in his career, and this latest setback only makes that number look worse.
As a rookie in 2024, he missed four games because of multiple hamstring injuries. Last season, a broken vertebrae in his neck during the preseason wiped out the first 13 games of the year.
Now he’s staring at another lengthy absence, and the concern is hard to ignore. He also dealt with a knee issue in college, and the injury-prone label is beginning to stick.
When McMillan has been available, he’s shown exactly why Tampa Bay wanted him involved. In his rookie season, he caught a league-leading seven touchdowns over the final five games to help push the Buccaneers into the playoffs. After returning from the neck injury last season, he posted 12 catches for 178 yards in four games, which works out to a 17-game pace of 51 catches for 757 yards.
For a Buccaneers offense that’s already sputtering, that kind of production is badly missed. Tampa Bay is 0-3, Mayfield is out for at least three weeks, and McMillan now appears headed for injured reserve as well.
In Other News...
Bucs Loss Exposed A Bigger Problem Than Fans Wanted To See
The Buccaneers 23-16 loss to the Vikings in Week 3 was more than just a one-score setback. Tampa Bay kept bumping into the same problems on both sides of the ball, with the offense never finding much rhythm under coordinator Zac Robinson and the defense undone at key moments, including an 86-yard punt return touchdown that tilted the game in Minnesotas favor.
Baker Mayfield finished with a 50% completion rate, one touchdown and one interception, then added a right hand injury late in the game to an already frustrating night. There were also rough stretches for players such as cornerback Jacob Parrish and right tackle Luke Goedeke, leaving the Bucs with an uncomfortable reminder that the issues exposed Sunday go well beyond a single bad sequence or a single phase of the game. [Read more 🡒]
Baker Mayfield Injury Just Raised The Stakes For A Reeling Bucs Team
Tampa Bays rough Week 3 got even messier late in the loss to Minnesota, when Baker Mayfield dislocated his thumb near the end of the game. The Buccaneers were already dealing with the sting of another defeat, and the injury to their starting quarterback quickly became the biggest concern coming out of the night.
Todd Bowles said Mayfield will undergo an MRI to get a better read on the injury, leaving the team waiting on a clearer update. Mayfield was replaced by rookie Jalon Daniels after leaving the game, and for a Bucs team trying to steady itself, the timing of the setback only adds to the pressure heading into the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Loss Exposed Problems Fans Wont Stop Arguing About
The Buccaneers latest loss did more than dent the standings - it reopened the same arguments that have followed this team for weeks. Between the defenses uneven stretches, the offenses uneven rhythm and a special teams sequence that left plenty of second-guessing behind, the game against Minnesota became the kind of all-around mess that forces a closer look at how Tampa Bay is being coached and why so many drives still seem to stall at the wrong time.
Todd Bowles now has a familiar debate on his hands, because the scrutiny is not just about one bad afternoon but about how the Bucs handled key moments through the first three quarters. Baker Mayfield, Bucky Irving and a few others had their moments, but the bigger issue is whether the teams decisions and execution can keep matching up against good opponents when the game starts tightening. [Read more 🡒]