McMillan’s passion helped him bounce back from an Aug. 16 preseason game where he suffered three broken vertebrae in his neck. He spent the majority of the season on injured reserve before returning in Week 15.
McMillan found his footing for 178 receiving yards and 12 receptions over the next four games, backed by a Week 17 splash that saw him rack up seven catches for 114 yards. It was a welcome sight to see McMillan produce and show no fear in his return from injury, even as the Bucs were mired in a rotation that would end their five-year playoff run.
“I was just happy to see him back,” Bowles said. “There was a period of the season where I didn’t know if he was going to come back and then if he did come back, I didn’t know if he was going to be nervous, especially with the neck injury. I think in the first game back he got hit on the neck and he got up like nothing happened and I was happy after that.”
Perhaps somewhat of a forgotten entity after his injury and 2025 first-round WR Emeka Egbuka’s incredible start in his rookie year, McMillan isn’t far from being a rookie darling himself.
Although his final tally of 461 yards on 37 receptions from the 2024 campaign was modest – seven of McMillan’s eight touchdown catches came during a five-game stretch to end the season.
Should franchise legend Mike Evans find the allure of a new home in his upcoming free agency too strong to ignore, the Buccaneers certainly won’t be venturing into unfamiliar territory unprepared.
That’s largely thanks to McMillan, as well as Egbuka, Tez Johnson and veteran Chris Godwin.