Buccaneers place Jensen on season-ending IR

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without center Ryan Jensen for the second consecutive campaign.

General manager Jason Licht said the team will place the 2021 Pro Bowler on injured reserve Saturday, ending his 2023 campaign, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud.

Players placed on IR ahead of the roster cutdown deadline can't be removed from the list during the season.

Jensen suffered a serious knee injury during offseason workouts before the 2022 campaign and hasn't fully recovered. He tore his ACL, MCL, PCL, and meniscus and fractured the tibial head and cartilage in his left knee.

The 32-year-old elected not to undergo surgery, instead opting for stem cell treatment, and managed to play in the team's wild-card loss to the Dallas Cowboys to end last season.

Robert Hainsey, a third-round pick from the 2021 draft, is expected to replace Jensen in the starting lineup. The 25-year-old started all 17 regular-season contests for Tampa Bay last year and earned a 66.7 overall grade from PFF.

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