Ryan Jensen Retires After 9-Year NFL Career with Bucs, Ravens; Won Super Bowl LV | News, Scores, Hig

September 2024 ยท 3 minute read
TAMPA, FLORIDA - JANUARY 16: Ryan Jensen #66 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers warms up prior to a game against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card playoff game at Raymond James Stadium on January 16, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen, who won a Super Bowl with the 2020 Bucs before earning Pro Bowl honors a year later, announced his retirement on Instagram Friday.

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter

Buccaneers' Pro-Bowl center and former Super Bowl champion center Ryan Jensen announced on social media that he is retiring from the NFL. <a href="https://t.co/9ev2E5ithX">pic.twitter.com/9ev2E5ithX</a>

Jensen played 100 games over his nine seasons. He took the field for the Baltimore Ravens from 2014-2017 before leaving in free agency for the Bucs in 2018. Jensen suited up for Tampa Bay from 2018-2022.

He's certainly enjoyed an immensely successful career after landing with the Ravens as a sixth-round pick in 2013.

Jensen started every game possible from 2017-2021 and played an integral role on a stout offensive line that blocked for seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady beginning in 2020.

After his Pro Bowl campaign, Jensen inked a three-year, $39 million contract to remain in Tampa Bay.

Sadly, Jensen suffered a devastating knee injury during training camp that forced him to miss the entire regular season. Per ESPN's Jenna Laine, Jensen "tore his ACL, MCL, PCL, meniscus, and fractured his tibial head and cartilage." Remarkably, he was still able to suit up for the Bucs' NFC Wild Card matchup against the Dallas Cowboys in January.

Unfortunately, an aggravation of that knee injury last summer forced the Bucs to put him on injured reserve, and it appeared that the ailment could be career-threatening, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Ian Rapoport @RapSheet

The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bucs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bucs</a> will place C Ryan Jensen on season-ending Injury Reserve thanks to the complications from the knee injury that robbed him of nearly all of last season, GM Jason Licht announced. The injury is so significant that Jensen likely had played his last down in the NFL.

Jensen's career is now over, but he engineered an excellent run in the league, especially for a sixth-round pick. Jensen didn't even become a full-time starter until 2017, his final year in Baltimore. He did so well that he parlayed that season into a four-year, $42 million deal with Tampa Bay. That move certainly paid off for the Bucs, who won their second Super Bowl in franchise history with Jensen at center.

In his retirement message, Jensen made sure to thank the Ravens and Bucs organizations. He also noted how he fell in love "with the organization, the team and the city" after he left Baltimore for Tampa.

Jensen also noted how he played with a relentless tenacity borne from the opportunity that presented itself, and he mentioned the "unwavering support" of his wife, kids, friends and family," noting that his professional career and life wouldn't have been possible without them.

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