Tampa, Fla. – Monday morning brings perhaps the biggest injury news of a promising comeback week for bucs: Pro Bowl Center Ryan Jensensidelined with a left knee injury since July, has been activated from the bench through injury and will make his season debut for Tampa Bay in Monday’s wild game against the team. Cowboys.
The Bucs hope to be as healthy as they have been all season, a week after resting nine players are being treated for injury or illness in hopes of having them when it counts.
A lingering concern for Tampa Bay on the injury front is in the attacking line inside, where the top four picks have all been limited by injuries of some form over the past week in fact. And for brave catlikely to play in the final game of his 23-year NFL career, the position is closely linked to his comfort level in any given game.
“Very,” Brady said Friday when asked how important the position is to him. “It’s a very important position. There’s a part of it where it’s nice to know exactly what you’re dealing with. Sometimes it’s new and you have to deal with it. [with it]. Every position deals with it. I think the central midfielder is naturally unique. … You must have a lot of people passing when people are bumped, injured and unconscious. Hopefully we’ll see who’s ready and who can come out and play well.”
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The Bucs lost Jensen in the second round of training camp, and that made for a promising season, taking away the tone-setter of the attack, a veteran leader who was always first. defend his quarterback, during and after a game. They won a Super Bowl with Jensen at center during the 2020 season, and he won his first Pro Bowl title last season.
When Brady retires short this spring, the Bucs’ next move is to bring Jensen back on a three-year, $39 million deal with two years guaranteed. So when Brady saw Jensen falling apart in training, when he immediately recognized the severity of the injury and its impact on the season, the midfielder dropped to one knee for a moment.
The Bucs haven’t shared the specifics of Jensen’s injury, but they were careful not to put him on the injury bench until the day after the final cuts were made, putting him on the roster. their original book to leave open the possibility of him returning after a while. points, at the end of the season. In five months, the answer is that there’s only a small chance Jensen could make a comeback, and even then, it could go deep into the knockouts.
But three weeks ago, the Bucs appointed Jensen back from a sub-injury, opening a 21-day deadline that would allow him to train with the team, checking his knee every day as he progressed towards his return. again. Now he’s back on the list and the Bucs really need him.
Robert Hainseythird pick in 2021 from Notre Dame, has replaced Jensen and has handled the starting job well, playing every attacking phase all season. But Hainsey had to adjust his hamstring early in last week’s final at Atlantaa game where the Bucs didn’t play or started attacking to give them the best chance of getting healthy for the knockouts.
Hainsey was replaced in the game by starting guard left Nick Leverettanother freshman starting freshman who hasn’t missed a single moment in the last 10 games after taking over at left-back for the rookie Luke Goedeke, who struggled for the first two months of the season. Leverett has played every game with the Falcons, but he limped off the field with knee and shoulder injuries, barely trained this week and was listed as “doubtful” to play against the Cowboys. Even the fourth option, John Molchonwho made his NFL debut defending the Falcons last week, was restricted due to an ankle injury this week and is listed as problematic.
Tampa Bay is suddenly healthy all over the field — tackles Donovan Smith and Tristan Wirfs both will play, helping the Bucs better handle a passing talent like Dallas’ Micah Parsons. Defense Vita Vea and Akiem Hicks both are fit and the Bucs are 6-1 this season with both playing at least 10 catches, compared to 2-8 when either one fails to do so. In the sub-division, they will have the top three corners and the top three corners all healthy and playing for the first time since Week 4.
The lingering question remains in center and left guard, a limiting factor in the Bucs’ attacking success all season. Tampa Bay had the league’s worst run in the league, and while the team didn’t drop many bags, it was Brady’s function to adjust his internal clock and remove the ball extremely quickly on purpose. self-preservation. For the 45-year-old midfielder, that proved to be smart, as the three playoff teams this weekend have the No. 3 QB on the field, two of which have been eliminated that way. The Bucs don’t have the passing threat down the backline like a central part of them averaging 30 points a game over the previous two seasons, but their back four survived to reach the knockout stages in 14th consecutive season.
For Bucs fans, that ability has been a boost of optimism and confidence for five months – just get to the knockouts, keep winning, and maybe Tom Brady will get it back get its Pro Bowl center position. It feels like it was in 2020, when Vea broke his shin in October and was gone for three months before returning in the NFC Championship Game, helping the Bucs win the championship for a second time.
“It all hurts – we’ll see,” Bowles said of his uncertain centers and guards Saturday morning. “They have two and a half days left. We’ll give it time. Maybe we have to make a decision [on] day of the game. … It’s still too early. We’ll make those decisions as we go, probably on Monday.”
When Vea returned two years ago, he had been gone for 108 days. For Jensen, Monday’s game fell on the 172nd day of his injury, nearly half a year of patient recovery and rehabilitation with the goal of helping his team this season. Now, he will do it in a home knockout, with everything in balance.
Greg Auman is the NFC South correspondent for FOX Sports, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He’s in his 10th season joining full-time for the Bucs and NFL, having spent time with the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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