Tag: Raekwon McMillan

Former Ohio State linebacker Raekwon McMillan out with torn ACL

Former Ohio State linebacker Raekwon McMillan has been hit with another devastating injury.

Former Ohio State linebacker, Raekwon McMillan, has been hit with another major injury. It was announced that New England Patriots newly acquired LB suffered an ACL tear during a recent practice. It is the second torn ACL in McMillan’s professional career.

McMillan was drafted out of OSU in the second round, No. 54 overall by the Miami Dolphins in 2017. He would never see the field his rookie season after his first ACL tear happened in his first pre-season game.

Coming back from that injury, McMillan did have a solid first year for the Dolphins in 2018 with a total of 105 tackles. However, his numbers have seen a steady decline in the years since. Last season, he suited up for the Las Vegas Raiders and appeared in all 16 games accumulating only 27 tackles.

The Pats decided to take a flyer on McMillan this season signing him to a one-year deal worth a little over $1.1 million. He’ll now have to spend the year on the injured reserve list and see if anyone is willing to take another chance or if it’s time to let his body rest. Either way, we wish the former Buckeye a speedy recovery.

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Patriots DT Christian Barmore, LB Raekwon McMillan exit practice with apparent injuries

A tough day for the Patriots’ injury report.

New England Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore and linebacker Raekwon McMillan exited practice on Tuesday after suffering apparent injuries.

Barmore, the team’s 2021 second-round pick, spent the final 30 minutes of practice on the sideline with trainers looking most at his left foot. It was unclear if he would have returned to practice, had it gone longer. He has been a really strong presence in the interior, including his productive day in the team’s first padded practice on Tuesday.

McMillan suffered an injury after getting hit in the legs during a special teams drill. He walked gingerly off the field and into a separate tent to speak with trainers. He did not return to the field. It’s a rough moment for McMillan, who had been building a strong case to make the roster while drawing praise from Bill Belichick this week.

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Bill Belichick says he’s impressed with this new LB’s ability to run Patriots defense

“He’s locked in every day. He’s very — works extremely hard both on and off the field. Does a great job of trying to get it just the way that it’s supposed to be.”

In a normal offseason for the New England Patriots, linebacker Raekwon McMillan might be a better-known free agency signing. He joined the Patriots on a one-year, veteran minimum deal, but he is the type of player that presents plenty of upside. Under coach Bill Belichick, McMillan seems like the type of player who can thrive.

But because the Patriots made so many splashes in free agency, McMillan hasn’t had a ceremonious arrival. He’s grinding under the radar with hopes of making the roster — but it seems like he’s going about it in the right way.

“Raekwon’s done a real good job. Been real impressed with his intelligence, his work ethic,” Belichick said Monday. “He’s locked in every day. He’s very — works extremely hard both on and off the field. Does a great job of trying to get it just the way that it’s supposed to be, the way that he’s been taught. (He) takes all that seriously and handles a lot of responsibility in there, both with the front and the coverage and a lot of times with the linebacker adjustments by formation.”

New England has emphasized work in the red zone during the early days of training camp, with most of the competitive drills taking place in that shortened space. It seems Belichick likes the increased degree of difficulty. But for players like McMillan, who are still leaning the Patriots system, the red zone can present a major challenge.

“In that area (the red zone), the importance of communication is heightened,” Belichick said. “It’s important everywhere, but it becomes even more stressful and difficult down there, because it happens so fast. Half a step there and it’s a touchdown.”

The fact that McMillan looks comfortable running the defense, including calling out pre-snap adjustments, bodes well for him as he tries to make the roster. He far from a lock to make the team, with a crowded group of versatile linebackers. But he should push returner Ja’Whaun Bentley, among others, for a roster spot.

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Patriots LB Raekwon McMillan shares his thoughts on Bill Belichick

The new Patriots linebacker has admiration for Bill Belichick and the Patriots.

Bill Belichick has been known to go after some of the players he sees most frequently in AFC East battles. He has traded for Dolphins wide receiver Wes Welker in 2007, signed Bills wide receiver Chris Hogan in 2016, and signed Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore in 2017.

So, when the Patriots head coach and de-facto general manager signed a former Dolphins’ linebacker in Raekwon McMillan this offseason, it wasn’t much of a surprise. However, even the linebacker was impressed by just how much the coach knew about his game.

“Coach Belichick told me something interesting that really jumped out at me,” McMillan said in his introductory conference, via NESN. “He told me that he’s been watching my career. And for a player, you’re talking to a Hall of Fame coach, him talking about my play, out of all these linebackers in the league — I know he watches a lot of ball, but he said he paid attention to me over my career, told me about my injury my rookie year. Of course, he was playing against me in Miami, but he just told me what happened to me last year with the Raiders.

“Everything he talked about, he talked about progress and moving forward and being the person he knows that I can be. And hearing that from a Hall of Fame coach really inspired me to just get out there and do what I’ve got to do.”

Following a season where many were losing faith in how much Belichick’s influence meant to players around the league, McMillan is one of many to sing the praises of the coach this offseason.

And, that might be a big change from when McMillan met with the Patriots prior to the 2017 draft. Going from one of the top collegiate programs in the country to meeting with a future hall of fame coach was enough to give him some anxiety.

“He actually told me that they wanted me in that draft,” said McMillan. “It wasn’t as intimating now because I’ve played against his team. It feels a little different now. But coming out of college, I was way over my head talking to him. Just looking him in the eye and seeing how serious he was, his track record, you know what I’m saying? The Patriots are known for their linebackers, so to be a guy that they want to be a part of their group, I feel like it’s special.”

While the Patriots didn’t end up selecting McMillan, he caught the eye of Belichick. And, Wednesday, he showed just the amount of admiration and respect he has for the organization.

“Just getting into the building, you can feel the prestige of being a Patriot, what it means,” McMillan said. “It’s all about team, and that’s all I’m about. I’m all about team and winning. You hear things from the outside looking in about this, that and the third — about this coach, that coach, how things are run (in New England). But until you’re in the building, you won’t have an understanding of what’s going on and the structure that’s built there.

“The people there make it extremely easy to win games — not easy, but it’s a known fact that you’re supposed to win as a Patriot.”

The 25-year-old is joining a defensive unit that’s expected to be much improved this season. The additions of Matt Judon, Davon Godchaux, Henry Anderson, and McMillan, combined with the return of Dont’a Hightower, should have an immediate impact, New England is hoping they can return to a dominant group in 2021.

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New England Patriots sign former Ohio State Linebacker

Bill Belichick loves signing former Ohio State players. The Patriots just signed former Buckeye linebacker Raekwon McMillan.

The New England Patriots have signed former Ohio State linebacker Raekwon McMillan. The contract is for just one year, while the financial terms of the agreement have not yet been released.

McMillan was a second-round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2017 and had several productive years in south Florida. Missing his rookie year after a pre-season injury, McMillan came back to start 28 games for Miami over the next two years, racking up 177 tackles.

The former OSU linebacker was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders for the 2020 season but never really got his footing under Jon Gruden. McMillan started just 4 games and appeared in all 16 totalling only 27 tackles.

Bill Belichick seems to like bringing in former Buckeyes. McMillian will join former teammates Rashod Berry, Devin Smith, and John Simon on the Pats roster.

It will be interesting to see if McMillon can catch on with New England and make an impact coming back to the familiar AFC East.

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Report: Patriots sign LB Raekwon McMillan

A depth option at linebacker.

The New England Patriots are signing linebacker Raekwon McMillan, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

The Miami Dolphins drafted McMillan in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He missed his rookie season with an ACL injury, but logged 105 tackles, five tackles for loss and a pass breakup in 2018. He played 13 games in 2019 when he had 72 tackles with two quarterback hits. Miami traded him to the Raiders during the 2020 offseason. He logged 27 tackles in 2020.

He figures to serve as a depth option in New England’s linebacker group. He will join a unit which includes Dont’a Hightower, Matthew Judon, Kyle Van Noy, Chase Winovich and Ja’Whaun Bentley, among others.

McMillan joined a large 2021 free agency class for the Patriots, with the linebacker being the 17th signing (or re-signing) since the free agency period opened.

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Urban Meyer discusses thought process of adding his former players to Jags’ roster

The tampering period is almost here and Urban Meyer is ready for the process, which could lead to him reuniting with some familiar faces.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a busy week ahead of them. The NFL’s tampering period will begin on Monday, which allows teams to negotiate with the agents of players who are on the open market.

With the Jags signing former Ohio State and Florida coach Urban Meyer, many have speculated that some of his former college players could join him in the pros. When looking at the list of names like Alex Smith, Joe Hayden, Janoris Jenkins, Curtis Samuel, and many others, there are a variety of names Meyer is familiar with who can help the Jags after going 1-15 in 2020.

The media asked Meyer about the potential of bringing in his former players at The Players Championship golf tournament Friday. He broke down some key elements that will play into those decisions, which is the insight his assistants can provide and whether they would be a fit for their respective groups.

“I’m waking up in the middle of the night staring at the ceiling trying to put this … all of us are trying to put this thing together,” Meyer said. “You just look at the history, which I have, just looking through the history of the NFL, how many chances do you get to build a roster like we are? You have cap space, 11 draft picks. You can’t screw it up, man. You got to get the right people…”

Ultimately [our assistant coaches] are in charge of who goes in their room. You mentioned Janoris [Jenkins] and Raekwon McMillan, I got a bunch of former players out there who I would love to get, but I got to make sure they fit in that room.”

When putting his staff together, Meyer did a good job of mixing NFL assistants with college assistants. His three coordinators, Joe Cullen, Darrell Bevell, and Brian Schneider, have all been in the NFL for at least 13 years. Meyer will have heavy discussions with them in particular in terms of his former players, and after putting their minds together, they should all be able to come up with a solid answer.

As for the players Meyer mentioned in particular on Friday, it feels like Jenkins has the highest probability to end up with the Jags. He was cut by the New Orleans Saints this week, which gives the Jags a chance to add a player into their young secondary who has been in the NFL nine seasons. Jenkins, who was a former second-round pick for the St. Louis Rams, has started in 125 games, a mark nobody in the secondary comes close to.

At the same time, Jenkins is 32 years of age, and the Jags could find a younger option on the market, although they may not know Meyer. With them leading the NFL in cap space, they could sign a player like William Jackson III, who is not only a younger player but a better one in the eyes of most.

Raekwon McMillan, who played for Meyer at Ohio State, might be even less of a fit. With the Jags set to start Myles Jack and Joe Schobert as interior linebackers, a team could give McMillan more snaps than the Jags could because he’s only 25 years of age. However, if he wanted to try another linebacker position and is fine with a rotation, there may be a spot for him with the Jags.

Ultimately, we’ll have to play the waiting game to see what Meyer is cooking up in terms of reunions. There are several of his former players who would be great to help the team improve while also providing experience, both of which are things the Jags desperately need.

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Revisiting the Dolphins’ trade of Raekwon McMillan ahead of Week 16

Revisiting the Dolphins’ trade of Raekwon McMillan ahead of Week 16

Just ahead of the start of the 2020 regular season, the Miami Dolphins made some noise with some personnel decisions that shook up the established order of the team’s defensive depth chart — most prominent among them the decision to trade veteran linebacker Raekwon McMillan to the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Dolphins sent McMillan, a fourth-year veteran entering into a contract year, and a 2021 5th-round pick to the Raiders for a 2021 4th-round pick — that same selection was sent back to the Las Vegas Raiders in the days that followed in a second, separate deal involving rookie wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. In all, the Dolphins swap materialized between both trades as follows:

Miami receives: 

  • Rookie WR Lynn Bowden Jr.
  • 2021 6th-round draft selection

Las Vegas receives: 

  • 2021 5th-round selection
  • LB Raekwon McMillan

The decision to trade McMillan ruffled some feathers in the Dolphins’ fanbase, bemoaning the decision to part ways with a physical run defender who had developed into a strong presence between the tackles. But Miami had other plans for that role, instead opting to shovel his reps there to LB Elandon Roberts. And, when Roberts started the season slow and the Dolphins conceded 217 rushing yards in Week 1 to the New England Patriots, there was a general sense of concern that the Dolphins had made a mistake.

But upon further review, the Dolphins are the clear winners of this exchange — and hope to claim a second win against the Raiders by logging one on the football field on Saturday night.

The draft choices exchanged here are inconsequential — they serve as proverbial lottery tickets that aren’t likely to bear any significant fruit. But between McMillan and Bowden Jr.; which player would you rather have? McMillan, who is still due for free agency this offseason, has played just 77 defensive snaps for the Raiders through the first 15 games of the season. Only two games this season have seen him log more than 10 defensive snaps (including a season high 28 defensive snaps last week).

Or, alternatively, you can have the player the Dolphins left the exchanges with in Bowden Jr; a talented rookie playmaker who has also taken his fair share of time working into the lineup; but provided much better results. The rookie has accounted for 191 yards from scrimmage over the last three games and logged nearly as many snaps on offense this past week alone (65) as McMillan has logged on defense for the Raiders all season.

When you add in Bowden is a player who will be under contract for three more seasons after 2020 comes to a close and it is clear that Miami pulled the right strings on their dealings with the Raiders. And for as motivated as Raekwon McMillan may be to make his old team pay for trading him this summer, you can be rest assured that Bowden Jr. is also ready to have a little extra in his game on Saturday night after the Raiders traded him just months after drafting him in the 3rd-round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

9 AFC East stories from last week for Bills fans to know

Storylines that Buffalo Bills fans will want to know from the last week on the AFC East.

You’re probably all on top of the latest news surrounding the Buffalo Bills and we hope Bills Wire helped you get there. But let us keep you up to date with the Bills news, just outside the Bills’ realm.

The upcoming 2020 NFL season has many thinking the Bills are the favorite in the AFC East. But Buffalo isn’t just going to stroll into that title. The Dolphins, Jets, and of course the Patriots, will all have something to say about that.

So let’s stay on top of some of the latest headlines surrounding the Bills’ divisional foes now. Here are nine news stories from the other three AFC East teams from the last week right here:

Miami Dolphins

Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard. Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Xavien Howard returns

Bad news for the rest of the AFC East… one of the division’s best cornerbacks is finally back in the fold for the Dolphins. Xavien Howard was activated by Miami and he joined his teammates at practice late last week. But here’s the curve ball: He was on two different designations. The Dolphins removed him from both the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list and the COVID-19/reserve list.

Howard was one of just three NFL players to be on the COVID-19 reserve list at the time of his activation, he spent more than two weeks designated as a COVID-19 reserve. There is no confirmation of whether or not Howard did test positive for the virus. But we do know he suffered from lingering knee issues, which had him on the PUP list. Dolphins Wire writes that Miami has to “tread carefully” with Howard’s knees. He’s got to get back into playing shape and not re-injure himself.

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Dolphins’ Raekwon McMillan trade strategy mirrors that of 2019-2020

Dolphins’ Raekwon McMillan trade strategy mirrors that of 2019-2020

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The dust has settled from the Miami Dolphins’ decision to trade linebacker Raekwon McMillan to the Las Vegas Raiders — the news of McMillan’s potential departure swiftly crept in over the weekend and within hours McMillan had gone from a potential starter to being shopped to being off the team completely. And, once the initial shock wore off, it became clear that this move made a lot of sense for the Dolphins.

In a lot of ways it mirrors Miami’s tendencies under general manager Chris Grier since 2019, too. First and foremost, Grier got creative with compensation in his efforts to bring Miami back the most highly coveted asset they could. The next step for Miami will be to hope that the Raiders stink in 2020 — as this pick has the potential to sit right on the edge of the top-100 selections if the Raiders are among the worst teams in the NFL this season. But, in a very Chris Grier type of move, the Dolphins flipped an established player for the promise of an extra bargaining chip to play with in the future. And, as a bonus, Miami no longer has to make the difficult decision on how much to pay or offer McMillan for his services as a limited player in coverage.

That is someone else’s problem now. Between Laremy Tunsil, Kenyan Drake, Robert Quinn and now Raekwon McMillan, Miami has been persistent in their efforts to offload players in the face of signing off on a new deal and avoid paying premiere prices to keep players in town if they don’t fit the long-term vision of the team. And sure, Laremy Tunsil would have been a player Miami would have loved to have. But Tunsil also got $22M per season in Houston and Miami paying that money out for a team in the early stages of a rebuild is admittedly a bit illogical. McMillan is a less severe example of the same school of thought.

And, furthermore, Miami’s draft day strategy mirrors the thinking here. The Dolphins’ draft was a tale of two halves — the first half of the draft saw the Dolphins stubbornly stand firm, coveting volume of high draft picks and making all of them count instead of trading up and getting fewer players. The second half of the draft saw Miami wheel and deal — starting in the 4th-round with the effort to draft Solomon Kindley.

The McMillan deal mirrors both of those schools of thought: the Dolphins are coveting getting more high draft selections (hence giving up the 5th-round pick to get this deal done instead of simply taking a 5th-rounder by itself) and the team is also wheeling and dealing Day 3 assets once again. The longer this rebuild goes, the better idea we’ll have on Grier’s tendencies. But the McMillan deal certainly gives us another glimpse at Miami’s ideologies in action.