Raekwon McMillan Injury Update: Miami Dolphins rookie leaves preseason game

Miami Dolphins rookie linebacker Raekwon McMillan injured his knee in his preseason debut and had to be taken to the locker room.

The Miami Dolphins were going to be thin at linebacker this season with questions about young players stepping up. One of those young players expected to play a big role was linebacker Raekwon McMillan. The Ohio State product figured to be in the mix to start at middle linebacker this season.

Unfortunately for him and the Dolphins, a team already dealing with big-time injuries (RE: Ryan Tannehill), they may not get to find out how he looks — at least at the start of the preseason.

With the Dolphins facing off against the Atlanta Falcons in preseason action, the defending AFC Wild Card team got the ball first. Miami was forced off the field, and they punted. McMillan came in on his first NFL snap on special teams.

While running down the field pursuing the ball, he collided with a teammate knee first. The second-round pick went to the ground, and trainers came out. He walked off under his own power, but was ruled as questionable to return for the game (which is game-speak in the preseason for not coming back):

McMillan was expected to play an increased role following the retirement of Koa Misi. However, this isn’t a good sign. Though he walked off under his own power, so did Tannehill when he was hurt in practice — and now Jay Cutler figures to be their starting quarterback in Miami.

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We’ll obviously have to wait to hear what the deal is with McMillan moving forward. The injury as it happened, though, didn’t look good. For the Dolphins sake, as they hope to go back-to-back with playoff berths, they’re going to need him healthy. If not, their defense could be ailing in the middle in a bad way.

Update

Early reports confirm the worst, that the rookie linebacker tore his ACL on his first NFL play.