The Tampa Bay Buccaneers surprised many draft analysts back in April when they used their first-round pick on Ohio State pass-catcher Emeka Egbuka despite wide receiver being one of the strongest positions on the roster. The Buccaneers had experienced first-hand in 2024 the need for depth at the position while weathering injuries to Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, and also considered Egbuka a special talent they couldn't pass by.
As it turns out, the Buccaneers' receiving depth is already being tested again in 2025, even with the regular season still 18 days away. The most recent blow to the group was the neck injury suffered by second-year man Jalen McMillan in last Saturday's preseason win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. On Tuesday, Head Coach Todd Bowles said that McMillan would not be ready for the start of the regular season, and reports later in the day suggested he would miss a substantial portion of the 2025 campaign.
"He's got a severely strained neck," said Bowles. "He's going to miss some time."
Bowles said that McMillan's injury was not expected to be career-ending, but Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reported that the receiver could be sidelined past the team's Week Nine bye.
Godwin is still completing his return from a serious injury including an ankle dislocation in Week Seven of last season and is on the active/PUP list during training camp and the preseason. If the Bucs choose to move Godwin to the reserve/PUP list to start the season, he would be forced to miss at least the first four games.
"We're going to need guys to step up with Chris down and then Jalen going down," said Bowles. "A lot of guys have stepped up and we've got to see them step up even more. The depth was well-needed and we still have some decisions to make after this game against Buffalo."
The Buccaneers are fortunate to have a significant amount of depth at receiver even without McMillan and Godwin, including five players who have already seen regular-season playing time with the team in Trey Palmer, Sterling Shepard, Rakim Jarrett, Kameron Johnson and Ryan Miller. In addition, the Bucs used a seventh-round pick on wide receiver Tez Johnson, who recently returned from an injury absence and has impressed throughout offseason workouts and training camp.
Shepard, who was a former teammate of Baker Mayfield at Oklahoma, also has good chemistry with the Bucs' starting quarterback and he is healthy in his second training camp after dealing with injuries in August a year ago. Though Mayfield didn't play against the Steelers, Shepard logged 14 offensive snaps and turned them into three catches for 47 yards.
"Sterling played well," said Bowles. "He had a heck of a training camp considering he came in injured last year and he practiced every day [this year]. He's a big energizer guy out there, he talks more than anybody out there, in a good way. In a very good way. You love his energy out there, but he made a lot of plays last week."
