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Raekwon McMillan’s season is over before it even starts.
Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reported Friday morning that after receiving MRI results, the Dolphins can confirm that McMillan suffered a season ending ACL injury during Thursday night’s preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons.
On McMillan’s first snap of the game, the rookie linebacker charged down the field on punt coverage only to collide with his own teammate. The next image fans saw was the 2017 second round draft pick lying on the field being attended to by trainers.
McMillan then walked off the field under his own power, but as we saw with Ryan Tannehill’s injury last season, that isn’t necessarily an indication of a player’s health. After the game, the young defender was seen leaving the locker room on crutches, only cementing the fear that his injury was serious.
McMillan was on pace to begin the year as the team’s middle linebacker between Kiko Alonso and Lawrence Timmons. With McMillan out, the coaches could decide to promote Mike Hull, who showed promise both last season and in McMillan’s absence on Thursday night. The team could also decide to bring in help through free agency. Possible options include Perry Riley Jr., DeAndre Levy, and former Dolphin Kelvin Sheppard.