Tampa Bay Buccanneers center Ryan Jensen will miss “months” with a knee injury he sustained in practice, coach Todd Bowles confirmed Friday.
Jensen was carted off the practice field with the knee injury at training camp on Thursday morning.
“We don’t know the severity of it per se, but I do know he’ll miss some significant time, up to a couple of months, whether he’ll be back later in the season, November or December, that depends on what they find. He won’t be available anytime soon,” Bowles told reporters.
Jensen, 31, was selected to his first Pro Bowl last season after starting all 17 games for the Bucs. He has not missed a start since the 2016 season.
He has competed in 100 regular season games (90 starts) and seven playoff games (six starts) with the Baltimore Ravens (2014-17) and Buccaneers. Baltimore drafted him in the sixth round in 2013 and he won a Super Bowl championship with Tampa Bay.
Bowles said Robert Hainsey and Nick Leverett will compete for the starting center spot.
“Being able to learn from Ryan and watch the way he plays the game has helped me a great deal over the last year to kind of figure out who I am as a center because that was new to me when I first got here,” Hainsey said. “So (he’s) been a great tool to have and a great mentor to have.”
–Field Level Media
