TAMPA, Fla. — Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen has announced his retirement via social media after a knee injury caused him to play only one game over the past two seasons.
Jensen, 32, spent the entire 2023 season on injured reserve while dealing with the injury that also sidelined him for the 2022 regular season. Jensen did return to play in the Buccaneers’ playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys that capped their 2022 season.
“With any chapter in the book of life, there is always an ending,” Jensen said in an Instagram post. “The NFL chapter of my life is coming to a close. As this chapter closes and I reflect on every aspect of my career, it makes me proud. In the hard times and the good, there is always something special to learn.
“Retiring from the game you have loved from a very young age is always hard. I am excited for this next chapter and the new opportunities and challenges it will bring.”
The Bucs issued a social media post saying, “You mean more to Tampa Bay than you know” and adding, “Go enjoy retirement!”
Jensen had opted not to undergo knee surgery to repair a torn ACL, MCL, PCL, meniscus, and had fractured the tibial head and cartilage. The hope was that the injured knee would heal on its own and with therapy. Jensen participated in 2023 training camp practices but in a limited capacity.
Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said in August that the knee “wasn’t responding” despite attempts to get Jensen ready for the season.
“The more he did on it, the worse it got,” Bowles said prior to the start of the season. “You’re healed when you don’t do anything. You’re not once you start working on it and it’s not responding.”
Jensen had been with the Buccaneers since 2018 and was the starting center on the 2020 team that won a Super Bowl title.
He continued to remain around the Bucs in 2023 but had noticeably lost a substantial amount of weight, and the feeling around the team was that his career was likely over.
Jensen spent his first three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, who selected him from Colorado State-Pueblo in the sixth round of the 2013 draft.
He made the Pro Bowl in 2021.
Information from ESPN’s Jenna Laine and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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