Watch: Buccaneers' Ryan Jensen gets emotional discussing injury, son
One of the worst parts about the serious knee injury Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting center Ryan Jensen suffered last summer was having to break the news to his now-five-year-old son.
"It was hard," an emotional Jensen admitted on the one-year anniversary of his setback, as shared by Fox Sports NFC South reporter Greg Auman. "When I came home after that day, having to explain that to him: 'Hey, dad got hurt today. I might not be able to play football this year.' Ten minutes later, he's like, 'Can we go play?' and I'm like, 'I'm in a cast. I can't walk. I can't do this.' So it was hard to walk through that, and see him broken-hearted for me. ... It was tough. It helped me see things in a different perspective."
Per Jenna Laine of ESPN, it was later learned that Jensen tore the anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during training camp last year. The 32-year-old also dealt with a tibial head fracture and a cartilage fracture but nevertheless avoided surgery and instead used stem-cell therapy in his attempt to return to the field as soon as possible.
Jensen's absences were among the many reasons Tampa Bay's offense struggled throughout the 2022 campaign. The 2021 Pro Bowl selection missed the entire regular season but somehow made it back well ahead of schedule and in time to block for now-retired quarterback Tom Brady in what became a wild-card playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Jan. 16.
Jensen acknowledged Friday that playing that Monday night "meant the world to him" even though the wiser move would've been to remain a spectator.
"It was a crazy road," Jensen added. "Looking back, I probably shouldn't have played, but at the same time, I wanted to go out there, help the team and be out there with my guys. It was an honor to be able to be back out on the field, with Tom's last game. It was an honor to play with him and suit up one more time with him."
The positive for the Buccaneers and Jensen is that he didn't worsen the injury by playing against Dallas. He is continuing his recovery and is working toward protecting the winner of the quarterback competition involving veteran Baker Mayfield and 2021 second-round draft pick Kyle Trask when Tampa Bay opens the regular season at the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 10.
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