Given murky timetables since his unspecified training camp knee injury, Ryan Jensen is expected to resurface at Buccaneers practice this week. The team will designate the the veteran center for return, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports. The Bucs have since announced the return designation.
Jensen went down during a July 28 practice and was feared to be out for the season. That may still end up being the case, but the Bucs will see how the recently re-signed snapper looks in practice. It would certainly boost Tampa Bay’s scuffling offense to have its top interior O-lineman back, as not much has gone right for the team on that side of the ball this year.
While Jensen suffered the knee injury exactly five months ago, Stroud adds he did not undergo surgery. The ninth-year center’s timetable has been up for debate since. The Bucs carried Jensen through to their active roster after cutdown day and placed him on IR soon after. That allows for a Jensen return from IR; he has been eligible to be activated since October.
Jensen, 31, was snapping the ball to Tom Brady before the Bucs’ Week 15 game against the Bengals, Stroud adds. Shortly after Brady’s decision to end his brief retirement, the Bucs began reassembling their team by signing Jensen to a three-year, $39M deal. The other two starters on Tampa Bay’s interior O-line — Ali Marpet and Alex Cappa — were not part of the equation, with Marpet retiring and Cappa signing with Cincinnati. The team has experienced steady losses up front as well, leading to a wildly disappointing season on offense.
The Bucs lost first-string guard option Aaron Stinnie for the season in August and just placed swing tackle Josh Wells on IR. The Jensen injury moved guard Robert Hainsey to center, and second-round pick Luke Goedeke moved into the starting lineup. The Bucs then benched the rookie for veteran Nick Leverett. Tampa Bay is also uncertain either of its tackles — Donovan Smith and Tristan Wirfs — will be in uniform for Sunday’s pivotal Panthers matchup.
Removing the Jensen-Marpet-Cappa trio from the mix has undoubtedly affected Brady’s performance, and it has made a major impact on Tampa Bay’s run game. The Bucs rank last in rushing in terms of total yards and yards per carry (3.4). The Bucs rank 28th in scoring, and Brady’s numbers have nosedived since he led the league in touchdown passes and passing yards in 2021. This has opened the door to the Bucs sitting at 7-8, still needing to do more to claim victory in perhaps the worst division in NFL history. The Bucs can clinch the NFC South title with a win in Week 17, but the team would not exactly generate much confidence going into the playoffs.
Jensen, who made his first Pro Bowl last season, would help supply some. Coming into this season, the former Ravens draftee had not missed a game since 2016. The former Division II product has three weeks from Wednesday to be activated, giving the Bucs some time to gauge his readiness.
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