Ryan Jensen Will Miss Second Straight Season Due To Injury

Ryan Jensen Will Miss Second Straight Season Due To Injury

Former Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen will not play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

On Saturday, the Bucs placed Jensen on the season-ending injured reserve list due to complications from his torn ACL, MCL, PCL, meniscus and a fractured tibial head and cartilage. Jensen suffered the injury in training camp last August.

The #Bucs will place C Ryan Jensen on season-ending Injury Reserve thanks to the complications from the knee injury that robbed him of nearly all of last season, GM Jason Licht announced. The injury is so significant that Jensen likely had played his last down in the NFL.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 27, 2023

During the Bucs preseason game against the Ravens, GM Jason Licht joined the broadcast booth and announced that Jensen would be done for the season.

“Well first of all, Ryan is one of the best linemen in franchise history,” Licht said. “He’s one of the best signings we’ve had. It’s going to be hard to replicate or clone him and we can only hope to come close, but we’re going to put him on IR. He’s going to be done for the year.

“But he’s going to be with us all year. He wants to help the O-line. He’s very excited about this team, the O-line. He’s taken a particular interest in Cody Mauch, another red head. Turns out I have a type. I’ve always liked gingers. The selflessness, the toughness, the leadership that he has is second to none. We talked a couple of weeks ago about this, so we just waited a little bit here. It was an emotional moment for me, for Todd, for him and everybody involved. But it’s for the best for him.”

Jason Licht wants Mike Evans to be in Tampa ‘long term’

Jensen signed a three-year, $39 million extension with the Buccaneers back in March 2022 and has only played one game since. Heading into his 10th year, Jensen may have played his last snap in the NFL.

“It breaks my heart. There is nothing more I want to do than be a part of this team. This organization has changed my life,” Jensen said. “Unfortunately, my knee just wasn’t progressing in a positive way. I fought my butt off. I put more work in this off-season than any year of my career. It just wasn’t responding how it needed to respond to make it back.”

The 32-year-old was the anchor for a star offensive line that protected Tom Brady during the 2021 season, helping win a Super Bowl over the Kansas City Chiefs.

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