“We’ll See”
December 6th, 2022
Ryan Jensen talks to Joe.
So what’s going on with Bucs center Ryan Jensen? Joe spoke to him (briefly) after tonight’s come-from-behind instant classic of a Bucs win.
Jensen is a good dude, but he’s like most NFL players. He doesn’t like to talk about injuries. That’s because teams believe injury chatter from players is verboten. And players potentially can get fined by their teams for revealing too much about their injuries and rehab.
Joe isn’t aware of the policy Todd Bowles has his players under and how much — or if — they get dinged for talking about injuries. Generally speaking, Bucs players will not get specific about their bumps and bruises. Welcome to the NFL.
So Jensen left the Bucs locker room last night — he is at every home game — and Joe caught him. Jensen is a friendly guy but when Joe asked him about his knee, well, let’s just say the smile vanished from Jensen’s face and instead of chatting with Joe, Jensen began to walk away.
Joe walked right with him.
Jensen wouldn’t say anything about his injury. Joe first asked him if he thinks he can return this season and Jensen replied, “We’ll see.” Jensen was then distracted by Bucs workers.
When Jensen finished his conversation, he seemed to be in a rush to leave Joe. So Joe again began walking with him. Joe asked, “So is the door open for you to play before the end of the regular season?”
Jensen again replied, “We’ll see.”
Well, he didn’t say no.
Joe asked Bowles recently at a presser about the possibility of Jensen returning and Bowles said in so many words the team is proceeding as if Jensen won’t play this year.
So feel free to craft your own conclusion about whether Jensen can or will play again this season. Joe can report Jensen was not using crutches and didn’t appear to limp at all.
Remember what Richard Sherman said.
December 6th, 2022 at 1:14 am
What advantage is lost by saying, if we make the playoffs, it’s possible I could be ready? Or even if he said, no, I’m out until next season.
With that said, at the time of his injury, all the chatter I heard was that the Bucs are hoping he might be ready for the playoffs. I doubt he’d be back before then.
Also Hainsey has done a great job this year. Would be kind of strange to send him to the bench after Jensen hasn’t played all season. What might make more sense, is to put Jensen in at left guard, where he played in Baltimore before moving to center, since generally that’s a bit easier, and Jensen would be an upgrade, and it would let him work himself back into shape a bit at a lower risk position. Just my opinion at this moment, but I’m open to being called stupid for thinking for that.
December 6th, 2022 at 1:28 am
This is one of the most bizarre story line for the Bucs. How is it December and we still have no idea what happened to his knee? Sure doesn’t seem good. Hopefully the big man is thinking about his career and that he didn’t pass up a surgery to try and return to a .500 team in December
December 6th, 2022 at 1:40 am
this guy isn’t apt to make a big difference in a short time–first the brace has to come off, the rehab has to start, Hainsey is performing satisfactory, sh!t even left tackle was decent. Its D.Smith with all the penalties. Ryan Jensen should just fess up about the injury and look to next season for a comeback
December 6th, 2022 at 1:41 am
right tackle was decent–wish you had an edit button we could use on our posts Joe
December 6th, 2022 at 1:42 am
@rod
A competitor might look a little harder at signing a free agent who gets cut in the next few weeks, just to keep him off our team if it was known for sure Jensen would not be coming back.
December 6th, 2022 at 2:53 am
I really find this conspiracy of silence bizarre and over the top. Is there really a gag order? If we go purely by what is known, months later now, it is still “too much swelling to diagnose” since week 1 camp. To DIAGNOSE.
Does Jensen even WANT to come back? Does he want to quit or get traded? A mutual deal (Daniel Robbins) hatched between OneBuc and Jensen, to cede everything to Golden Boy Hainsey and never come back? That would not surprise me. The major push is to field existing investments and save $ and effort, even if they’re JAGs.
They have gotten away with starting backup level OL vs. inferior opposition.
Regardless that they’ve gotten away with it for a bit, there is no comparison between a healthy Jensen and Hainsey. Jensen changes the entire OL and the character of the offensive attack. Do they really think they don’t need him anymore?
December 6th, 2022 at 4:44 am
Rod Munch Says:
“What might make more sense, is to put Jensen in at left guard, where he played in Baltimore before moving to center, since generally that’s a bit easier, and Jensen would be an upgrade, and it would let him work himself back into shape a bit at a lower risk position. Just my opinion at this moment, but I’m open to being called stupid for thinking for that.”
.
.
Es no estupido. I’ve been thinking about the same possibility ever since Stinnie went down injured.
December 6th, 2022 at 5:16 am
Thanks for trying Joe(s). That’s a simple non-answer and based on your description of his body language and his seeming use of Buc officials to try and get you off his scent, I’m going to speculate that there is more going on behind the scenes than just a when will he return to the field date. Again, pure speculation here but I don’t see him getting a start at Center with the Bucs again. As mentioned, Hainsey has become the golden child of Licht (Goedeke blew it) and trying to mental my way to Lichts vantage point, its not good business to bench a young upstart that is continually developing and growing at the Center position. Hainsey is the future of the Bucs and it wouldn’t do to bench him at this stage.
Jensen’s reaction could mean many things, but, its a tell that he isn’t talking progression or anything. Body language says he is dealing with other things now.
As someone above mentioned, we could see him at Guard.
Again, pure speculation.
December 6th, 2022 at 5:43 am
Joe, nice job with reporting here. Did a good job being persistent but also professional. Jensen news has been a hot topic here and in the absence of news the posts were sometimes relegated to sarcastic quips. So appreciate the extra effort to get a scoop when everyone is pining so badly for any news. And agree, “we’ll see” is not “no.”
December 6th, 2022 at 6:47 am
@Steele. I agree. It’s truly bizarre. I don’t think they wanted to re-sign Jensen, and Brady wasn’t having it. Jensen was the first guy he called when he unretired.
December 6th, 2022 at 7:13 am
@Rod. I’m with you on that. Jensen at LG, Hainsey has been holding his own. Few penalties, no bad snaps, false starts caused by lapses so let him stay there. I do recall a few yrs back when Marpet went down, didn’t we play Jensen at guard and used our backup center (who had to retire) at center? Or am I misremembering?
December 6th, 2022 at 7:19 am
Thanks for pressing Joe……..sometimes you’ve got to make things uncomfortable but that’s part of the job.
December 6th, 2022 at 10:11 am
Or…you could respect the man’s privacy…
December 6th, 2022 at 10:12 am
Jensen is much better at center. He was the reason we had a run game.
December 6th, 2022 at 10:17 am
We will see means, How the hell do I know? And more probably, Nope it ain’t happening.
December 6th, 2022 at 12:25 pm
Thanks for the effort, Joe. As you can tell from months’ worth of queries from fans, we all find it a bizarre situation surrounding Jensen. I mean, all this fan wants is a diagnosis and prognosis and time-table for return. Why can’t the Bucs provide that basic info? Puzzling, to say the least.
December 6th, 2022 at 12:50 pm
JBBUCS_06 – Actually Dirk was such a moron, he took our ALL-PRO guard and moved him full time to center for a year and a half, before the Jensen signing and moving Marpet back to guard. The Bucs did, and still do as far as I know, cross train all the guys – and Licht LOVES to pick college tackles (Marpet was a tackle in college) so in an emergency you can play guys all over the place.
I never had any issues with training Marpet at center, but you don’t take an all-pro and move him out of his spot, and to a new spot where he’s just an average player. Was always a dumb move, but they did eventually fix it.
December 6th, 2022 at 12:52 pm
Daniel Robbin – The best argument I’ve heard. However, any team would pick up any vet on the offensive line if they were worth playing. Also, I believe the waivers go by record, not seeding, so the Bucs would still have their pick amongst playoff teams of anyone who hit waivers. But it’s a very fair point.
December 6th, 2022 at 1:05 pm
“We’ll see” is usually a positive response; “Who knows,” negative; “Can’t say for sure right now,” hopeful/negative.
Would Jensen give Brady even a little more time in the pocket?
If the answer is, “yes,” then we’d best believe that Jensen’ll be at center as soon as possible; and the “Hainsey situation” will just have to come-out-in-the-wash somehow.
December 6th, 2022 at 2:43 pm
Sorry. He’s a very public figure playing for a very high profile team in America’s most popular sport. He’s well-compensated for a lack of privacy.
December 6th, 2022 at 3:59 pm
This Jensen injury thing is the weirdest thing in Bucs history.
My bet is he’s not coming back this season.
I bet Jensen has lost some weight & strength overall and gotten weaker during his knee rehab.
December 6th, 2022 at 5:24 pm
It’s a whole bunch of stupid. And if it isn’t, it will do until the stupid gets here.
I understand not saying when or if he will return, but not one single mention of the actual damage to his knee? You hear in great detail when a star receiver or QB goes down that “they tore this” or “broke that” or whatever. He’s a freaking (great) center who hurt his knee in camp. The secrecy makes no sense.
Is this the Bucs’ version of gamesmanship and out-foxing our opponents? Well played, sirs. With that big question mark over Jensen’s name there’s no way our opponents will figure out how to stop this juggernaut of a team. Well played indeed!
December 6th, 2022 at 8:26 pm
Joe, just read this story about Jensen. I was one of the jerks pushing the reporters to find out what was going on with Ryan’s knee. I see now you have been trying, they just won’t answer. My apologies for doubting you. For what it’s worth, “we’ll see” sounds like he’s trying to make it.
December 9th, 2022 at 6:19 am
I dont know why we are still asking this question!
Has anyone in recent history gotten a straight anwer about injuries in the NFL. hmmm Maybe Vegas gamblers…certainly not the media types!
All you accomplished was pissing the guy off!
December 9th, 2022 at 6:21 am
Maybe ask him how his rehab is going? Or how he feels being on the sidelines like Wirfs who you made a special point post about?
December 9th, 2022 at 6:30 am
“well-compensated for a lack of privacy.”
???
That sirs is the most arrogant thing I have ever seen you post on your site!
If you think a media credential gives you some sort of God given right to get all the answers to all the questions you ask (inappropriate or not), you live in the same lala land the mainstream media does!
December 9th, 2022 at 6:37 am
BTW Joes its called HIPAAand he does indeed have the right acording to the federal government.
December 9th, 2022 at 6:39 am
Ask JPP. He can explain it to you.