Jalen McMillan made his 2026 debut against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren't ready to give him a full workload just yet.
McMillan played seven of Tampa Bay's 65 offensive snaps and wasn't targeted in the 23-19 loss. The third-year receiver had missed Week 1 because of a knee injury suffered early in training camp, although he was a full participant in all three practices leading up to the Cleveland game.
The small workload was intentional as Tampa Bay continued working McMillan back into the offense. Head coach Todd Bowles explained Monday that McMillan is healthy but still working his way back to being completely ready.
"Yeah, he's healthy, and he's not all the way there yet, but he's close to getting there,"
Bowles said. "So just to get him in and try to get him juiced up and get him going was a good start." Bowles was then asked whether McMillan's role would expand once he's fully healthy. His response was simple: "Absolutely."
That makes Sunday's seven snaps more of a starting point than an indication of McMillan's role moving forward. The Bucs didn't force the issue in his first game back, and McMillan got through his season debut without recording a reception or target.
Now Tampa Bay can begin working him back into a receiving corps that has leaned heavily on Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka and rookie Ted Hurst through the first two weeks.
McMillan's return against Cleveland was the first step. Based on Bowles' comments, a much bigger role is coming once the Bucs are comfortable turning him loose.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucs reveal plans to expand Jalen McMillan's role
