Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Sunday that the team is still uncertain of the severity of center Ryan Jensen’s left knee injury.
Jensen was injured during a practice on July 29. He was wearing a leg brace while on the sideline of the Buccaneers’ 26-24 preseason loss to the Miami Dolphins on Saturday.
“The swelling hasn’t gone down and (the medical personnel are) not exactly sure on the timing. He may or may not come back, if at all,” Bowles said. “They said in the next week — we should know something by this week. Because we didn’t have an answer, I didn’t give a comment. I wasn’t trying to be mean or anything — they just told me to wait until the swelling goes down because it could go one of two ways and we are just waiting for it.”
With Jensen sidelined, second-year offensive lineman Robert Hainsey started at center against the Dolphins before being replaced by Nick Leverett.
“I thought Leverett did a good job going in. I looked at the offensive line and Hainsey did some good things,” Bowles said.
Jensen, 31, was selected to his first Pro Bowl last season after starting all 17 games for the Bucs. He has not missed a start since the 2016 season.
He has competed in 100 regular season games (90 starts) and seven playoff games (six starts) with the Baltimore Ravens (2014-17) and Buccaneers. Baltimore drafted him in the sixth round in 2013 and he won a Super Bowl championship with Tampa Bay.
–Field Level Media