Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen has been designated to return from injured reserve after suffering a knee injury earlier in the season.
The #Bucs have officially opened the 21-day practice window for center Ryan Jensen, who is on injured reserve with a knee injury. It will not be immediate, but it is a good sign.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 28, 2022
His return helped this Tampa Bay Bucs team tremendously. Jensen has been one of their best offensive linemen in recent years. Tampa has been throwing guard-turned-center Robert Hainsley, who has done a good job. However, he is not your quintessential center. Jensen had his best year by far last season where he made his first Pro Bowl. In his Pro Bowl season, Jensen started all 17 games and recorded only four penalties on the offensive line. He was one of the key pieces of the offensive line in his Super Bowl run.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had a multitude of offensive line injuries this season. They have been playing with a revolving door at both tackle positions as both starting tackles have lost time. Standout right tackle Tristen Wirfs was hampered recently by an ankle injury and said he’ll play through it, but that could be made a little worse by wear and tear.
Although Tampa Bay won’t get Jensen right away, his presence on the offensive line will help the team as a whole. The Bucs’ running game is one of the worst in the NFL. However, they do have capable running backs in Leonard Fournette and rookie Rachaad White. For them to even win a playoff game, the Bucs’ offense needs to be somewhat balanced. They can’t trust Tom Brady, 45, to throw more than 50 times a game. Brady needs a capable offensive line for him to succeed now.
Tampa Bay is still somewhat the favorite to win the NFC South according to NFL betting sites. Getting Ryan Jensen back on this offensive line will help his odds of doing it.
