Buccaneers' Ryan Jensen Opens up After Being Placed on Injured Reserve: “It Breaks My Heart”
In the middle of the Buccaneers preseason game, Jason Licht was on the local Buccaneers TV broadcast and announced that Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen would be done for the season, being placed on IR.
READ MORE: VIDEO: Baker Mayfield With a Beautiful Touchdown Strike to Chris Godwin
Jensen had been missing practice for the last few weeks after coming back to practice, but then he did not travel with the team to New York for their joint practices against the Jets.
Jensen took the podium to speak with the local media after it was announced that his season would be done, he was very emotional speaking on the podium.
"It breaks my heart. There is nothing more I want to do than be a part of this team. This organization has changed my life."- Jensen on the announcement for IR.
"Unfortunately, my knee just wasn't progressing in a positive way. I fought my butt off. I put more work in this off-season than any year of my career. It just wasn’t responding how it needed to respond to make it back” - Jensen on how his knee felt returning to practice this season.
“I don’t think so. There was nothing glaring. There was nothing that happened in that game that set me back.” - Jensen on playing against the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs last season.
“I’m gonna fight my butt off and do whatever I can to get back” - Jensen on the report that he may retire and never play again in the NFL.
“Cody is a great young player. The kid wants to learn and be a great football player. He’s a kid that is gonna be a really good football player” - Jensen on rookie Cody Mauch.
READ MORE: Buccaneers' Star Offensive Player's Career In Jeopardy
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport was reporting after the announcement that Jensen could potentially retire from the NFL.
Jensen will miss the entire 2023 season, he told the media that he plans to continue to spend time around the team in the facility and will be active in helping their young players and locker room.
Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2023 season.
