Car Enthusiast Raekwon McMillan Is Ready To Finally Play His First NFL Season
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – When you think about American muscle cars – a 69 Chevy Camaro is somewhere near the top of the list.
A classic design yet a force to be reckoned with.
Underneath the hood is just as impressive as the exterior frame.
And you can say the same about Miami Dolphins second year linebacker and car enthusiast Raekwon McMillan.
"I feel like old school muscle cars are just different," McMillan said. "It's not what the modern guy would think I would get. You know a football player – they think about exotic cars. The most expensive car on the lot."
"It doesn't look like it but there's a lot of muscle in this car, it's a '69 Z-28 Camaro," he said. "I'd love to take it for a spin but this aint mine. So I'm not going to do all that."
McMillan actually owns one of those but the one he's describing belongs to The Barn Miami. A boutique dealership owned by Gaston Rossato.
"Here at The Barn we believe in diversity," Rossato said.
From Ferrari's to impalas to a few rare Alpha Romero's – Raekwon was a kid in a candy store. But while this was a nice break from football – his focus is squarely living up to the expectations of a career that failed to launch his rookie season when he tore his ACL in his first preseason appearance.
"I kind of knew to myself something was really messed up on the inside but after I got confirmation from the docs I told myself to stay calm because I got family in the stands," McMillan said. "I didn't want them going crazy. I didn't tell them until the doc told me the next day it was cool to let your family know."
A difficult journey was ahead of him but McMillian wasn't alone.
His journey of recovery from a devastating knee injury was shared with his quarterback, Ryan Tannehill.
"We had the same exact surgery on the same day and got back to rehab together at the same time, and also Tony Lippett was with us as well," McMillan said. "We were all grinding during the off season. [For] Tannehill, it was his second year going through an injury and he pushed me to things beyond measure."
With injuries behind him, McMillan is singing a different tune when it's just him and his ride.
"I like to play a little Tupac, a little Biggie," he said. "I'm an old school cat, I like to chill and vibe out."
He wouldn't dish out how many tackles he'd like to collect in his first full season – but he does have his eye on adding a few more cars to his personal collection.
