Who Should I Start? Jalen McMillan or Malachi Fields

Thursday, November 5, 7:12 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said on Thursday that he was not expecting wide receiver Jalen McMillan (knee) back in Week 9 against the Chicago Bears, and the team is on bye next week, so the next window for him to return from Injured Reserve is when the Bucs return to practice in two weeks, according to Greg Auman of FOX Sports. McMillan's injury was reported as a six- to eight-week injury initially, so it is still within that window. The 24-year-old aggravated a PCL sprain in his left knee in Week 3 and was placed on IR, and he will not be back until sometime after Tampa's Week 10 bye. With Emeka Egbuka (foot) on the verge of a return from a two-game absence and the Buccaneers' passing attack on life support the last two weeks, even when McMillan returns, he is not going to be a very popular waiver-wire pickup in fantasy leagues as he battles for a depth role behind Egbuka and Chris Godwin Jr. In two games played so far in 2026 in his third year in the NFL, McMillan had zero catches on just one target.