An offseason of turnover continues in Tampa Bay, as the Buccaneers are dealing with another bittersweet farewell.
Ryan Jensen announced his retirement on Friday, ending his 11 year career. The writing seemed to be on the wall for the Pro Bowler, as he'd missed the last two seasons after suffering a serious knee injury during training camp two years ago, and the fear was that it might end his career.
It turns out that might have been the case, but Jensen is walking away from the game on his own terms. A free agent this offseason, Jensen chose to hang it up and go spend time with ihs family rather than trying to rehab and work his way back.
He has nothing left to prove, and his retirement is well deserved.
Ryan Jensen posts heartfelt retirement message on social media
On Friday Jensen posted an official retirement message on his Instagram account, one that will make it dusty in whatever room a Buccaneers fan might read it.
Buccaneers’ Pro-Bowl center and former Super Bowl champion center Ryan Jensen announced on social media that he is retiring from the NFL. pic.twitter.com/9ev2E5ithX
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 2, 2024
Jensen was a key piece of the Buccaneers Super Bowl team, anchoring a line that protected Tom Brady and brought a championship back to Tampa Bay. He was already with the Bucs when Brady arrived but quickly carved out a relationship with his new quarterback that was hilariously detailed in the book A Season In The Sun.
Go check it out, but it involves a call to Jensen at his offseason cabin, some baby powder, and a promise to protect Brady and not get too sweaty in the process.
The other half of Jensen's career was spent in Baltimore with John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco, having just missed winning another Super Bowl by one season.
Jensen tried to work his way back to the Bucs this past season, going as far as to make a triumphant return to training camp. He gave an emotional press conference in which it was clear how heavy the weight of the decision to keep playing was on his family, which makes it no surprise that he's chosen to walk away to spend more time with him.
Despite missing the entire season on IR, Jensen was on the sideline helping the Bucs which goes to show just how beloved -- and missed -- he'll be in Tampa.