Raekwon

McMillan

The Ravens released Ngakoue yesterday, prompting the 2-7 Patriots to unexpectedly bolster their thinned-out pass rush. Ngakoue can hardly be projected for a robust snap count but he should chip in from time to time. His signing does not move the needle on the Patriots’ D/ST unit for fantasy purposes. The team released LB Raekwon McMillan in a corresponding move.

McMillan suffered a torn Achilles in May and is out for all of 2023. Still, his injury didn’t stop the Patriots from locking him in for next season, as the team will now have him rostered heading into next season. McMillan has been dealt a few tough blows as far as injuries go. His latest injury comes just less than two years after he tore his ACL in August 2021. McMillan totaled 35 tackles and one sack for the Patriots in 2022 but played primarily as a backup, logging just one start in 16 games.

For what it’s worth, it is “partially” torn. Either way, it’s a brutal blow for a player who missed all of 2021 with a torn ACL. He rallied to become an every-game contributor for the Pats in 2022. From the Pats’ perspective, it’s mostly a depth issue, but depth issues quickly become major issues, especially when it begins getting skimmed this early in the season.

The new deal keeps McMillan from reaching the free agent market. McMillan returned from a 2021 torn ACL to play a sub-package role for the Patriots, posting 35 tackles and a sack while playing 23% of defensive snaps. The Patriots extending McMillan points towards a larger role for the run-stopper in 2023.

McMillan was signed to a one-year deal during the offseason after a year in Vegas following two in Miami. A former second-round pick of the Dolphins, this is McMillan’s second torn ACL in his young career, though this one is on the opposite knee. McMillan will be a 26-year-old free agent next offseason and coming off another major knee surgery.

McMillan was primarily used on special teams in Las Vegas, logging 285 snaps (61%) with that unit. He’s only one season removed from being utilized as a viable run-stopping linebacker in Miami’s front-seven, likely landing in a similar role under coach Bill Belichick.

The Raiders are getting a fifth-round pick back from Miami. The Dolphins are moving up one round on Day 3. McMillan played 60 percent of snaps and was one of Miami’s better run stoppers before a hamstring injury ended his season in December. Entering a contract year, McMillan is a low-cost rental with upside.

It’s not a serious injury, but McMillan was not going to be healthy before Week 17. A 60 percent player this season, McMillan was featured less than 2018 but continued to stand out as a run stopper. Now 24, McMillan will head into 2020 a full two years removed from his torn ACL. He will remain a starter for the rebuilding ‘Fins.

McMillan missed his entire rookie season with a torn ACL and struggled early on last year. “I was trying to get a feel for the game and come off the injury at the same time,” McMillan said. “I started off kind of slow, but as the season progressed, I kind of got a feel for how the game speed was going and how intelligent the players were.” McMillan still has some questions to answer in coverage, which was a concern coming out of college, but it would not be surprising to see him take a step forward following a healthy offseason.

McMillan (6’2/240) arrived at OSU as a five-star recruit and did not disappoint, starting for 2-of-3 years and leading the Buckeyes in tackles in each of those two seasons. McMillan broke out for second-team All-America honors as 2016 junior, then turned pro. McMillan is an above-average athlete with 51st-percentile SPARQ results and 4.61 speed, but he showed coverage limitations against backs and tight ends and lacks ideal change-of-directions skills. Still, McMillan possesses NFL-caliber Mike ‘backer traits with fundamentally sound tackling and plus blitzing ability.