Raekwon McMillan had quite an unfortunate NFL debut on Thursday night.
An MRI revealed Friday that the Dolphins' second-round selection suffered a torn ACL during Miami's preseason opener, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source informed of his situation. Rapoport confirmed that McMillan is out for the 2017 season.
McMillan suffered the injury on a special teams play in the second quarter and did not return to the game.
The season-ending blow is obviously disappointing for McMillan, who had seen first-team snaps at middle linebacker during training camp. The rookie's absence likely means that veteran acquisition Lawrence Timmons will secure the starting MLB job, but leaves a vacancy at outside linebacker across from Kiko Alonso. Fellow outside linebacker Koa Misi was placed on injured reserve in late July with a neck injury.
Here are the other injuries we're monitoring on Friday:
- Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton continues to rehab after offseason shoulder surgery. Friday, he took another big step. Newton threw to wide receivers during team drills for the first time since July 30 when trainers cut his day short due to fatigue. Friday, Newton threw passes for about 10 minutes during individual drills.
In other Panthers news, rookie running back Curtis Samuel told reporters he is being "cautious" with the hamstring injury initially suffered in minicamp, calling it a "minor strain." Samuel has not been an active participant in practice since his conditioning test on the first day of camp, but has been catching passes from Newton off to the side.
- Minnesota Vikings running back Bishop Sankey is done for the season after an MRI revealed he suffered a torn ACL in Thursday's preseason tilt against the Buffalo Bills, a source informed of the injury told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. Sankey was hoping to find a role in Minnesota after spending two seasons in Tennessee, but the knee injury will hold him out of the entire 2017 season.
- Seattle Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin is fine after teammate K.J. Wright fell on his leg, coach Pete Carroll said, per the Seattle Times. Baldwin won't play Sunday, though the injury isn't serious.
- Trent Murphy was slated to miss the first four games while suspended for violating the NFL's PED policy. Now he'll miss the entire season.
The Washington Redskins pass rusher suffered a torn ACL in Thursday's preseason opener, Rapoport and NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported. Murphy has previously missed just one game in his previous three seasons. He is coming off of a career-high nine-sack season.
- The Detroit Lions saw the return of tight end Eric Ebron and offensive tackle Ricky Wagner to practice. Ebron hasn't practiced since the first day of camp when he strained his hamstring. The starting tight end will not play in Detroit's exhibition in Indianapolis on Sunday, but should see game action going forward. Wagner left practice with an undisclosed injury Thursday.
- Denver Broncos defensive end Billy Winn is out for the 2017 season after suffering a torn ACL in the team's preseason opener on Thursday night, Rapoport reported, per a source. The sixth-year end had 19 combined tackles last season.
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was diagnosed with a concussion during Friday's game against the Giants, and didn't return to the game.
- New York Giants safety Duke Ihenacho (hamstring) left early against the Steelers after suffering a hamstring injury.
- San Francisco 49ers defensive end DeForest Buckner left Friday's preseason with over the Chiefs with an ankle injury and did not return.
