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Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen placed on season-ending IR

profilephotocropby:Suzanne Halliburton•08/26/23•

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ryan jensen
Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Jensen, a Pro Bowl center for the Buccaneers. is headed to the injured reserved list and is out for the season. That’s according to Jason Licht, Tampa’s general manager.

It might also mean that Jensen has played his last down in the NFL.

Licht made the announcement during the TV broadcast of the Bucs’ final exhibition game against Baltimore.

It’s probably not a shock to Bucs’ fans since he missed all of training camp. Jensen suffered a severe knee injury in July 2022. He didn’t have surgery and he sat out the regular season, playing in only the Bucs’ wildcard loss to the Cowboys.

In a training camp practice, Jensen tore the ACL, MCL, PCL and meniscus in his knee. And he also fractured his tibial head and tore cartilage. It was a major injury. He told reporters that in hindsight, he shouldn’t have played in the wildcard game.

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Tom Brady and Ryan Jensen, who were quarterback and center, hug before the start of the Cowboys-Bucs playoff game in January. Brady retired two weeks later. It also might prove to be Jensen’s last game. (Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports)

Given his age — he’s 32 — and how much time he will have missed, it’s likely he might have played his last down. Ian Rapoport, a reporter with NFL Network, said Jensen “almost certainly” played his final game. So it’ll mean Jensen’s final snap in the NFL was also the same as Tom Brady, his quarterback.

Ryan Jensen passed his physical before the start of training camp. But he never was able to practice. Bucs fans know his leadership played a vital role in Tampa’s Super Bowl season of 2020.

Jensen started his career with the Ravens. Baltimore drafted him in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. And he finally earned a full-time starting job in 2017. However, in March 2018, the Bucs made Jensen the highest-paid center in the NFL, signing him to a $42 million contract. He signed a three-year contract extension in March 2022. But he’s played only one game since agreeing to it.

Jensen played in 100 games in his pro career, starting 90 of them.