Tom Brady: Robert Hainsey has 'got to go earn' Buccaneers' center job with Ryan Jensen out

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen to a left knee injury during practice last week and are expected to be without him for at least "a couple of months," per an update offered by head coach Todd Bowles. 

Current Tampa Bay linemen Robert Hainsey and Nick Leverett were quickly named as potential replacements for Jensen in the lineup, and Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper notes that Hainsey has received work with the first team since Jensen went down. Quarterback Tom Brady spoke with reporters on Monday and remarked he's "heartbroken" over Jensen's injury but added he has faith in Hainsey's ability to fill what could become a noticeable gap up front. 

"He worked hard last year, really gained the trust of a lot of people, and he’s got to go earn it," Brady said of Hainsey. "Like all of us, it’s not what you did, how hard you worked in the offseason. It’s how good a football player are you."

According to Mike Florio of PFT, Bowles suggested on Saturday that he's open to the Buccaneers signing a proven commodity to take over at center. Former Cleveland Browns starter and free-agent J.C. Tretter, the current president of the NFL Players Association, continues to be linked with Tampa Bay by insiders such as Florio, but it appears Hainsey will first be given an opportunity to prove he deserves the gig beyond just summer practices.