Buccaneers set to lose another offensive star in free agency

The Buccaneers would be smart to start planning for a future without Ryan Jensen.

In a world without Tom Brady, the Buccaneers will want to keep their offensive line as well-staffed as possible to make life easy for whoever takes over for the GOAT.

Any quarterback that comes in will be a step back from what Tampa had over the past two seasons, so supporting this player with a decent run game and a quality offensive line is paramount for short-term success.

Unfortunately for the Bucs, keeping the offensive line together is easier said than done.

Tampa already has a mountain of money tied up in Ali Marpet and Donovan Smith, and Tristan Wirfs isn’t far off from being one of the highest-paid players in the sport.

If they could, the Bucs would assuredly jump on new deals for Ryan Jensen and Alex Cappa, but they just don’t have enough money to stay competitive with the demand of the market.

This isn’t to say that Jensen and Cappa don’t bring major value to one of the best offensive lines in the league, but the Bucs don’t have enough money to add two more pricey options to the line when they have a few depth pieces that wouldn’t be a complete fall off the cliff from a talent standpoint.

After watching the Super Bowl, Bucs fans should be aware that there are several teams across the league that will need a player of Jensen’s caliber in a huge way.

Jensen, who plays at an All-Pro level every season and makes a legitimate case as the best center in football, should get plenty of looks from teams like the Bengals.

Cinci has the cap space and the need to make Jensen one of the highest-paid centers in the league, and the Buccaneers aren’t close to that with so many free agent needs coming up.

Jensen’s loss would certainly hurt the Bucs, but there are few options when his market will almost assuredly command a large amount of attention from all across the league.

Losing established offensive linemen is never easy, and the Buccaneers may have to spend much more time preparing for this contingency given the current circumstances.

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