Ryan Jensen, a center for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pro Bowler, declared on Friday that he is ending his ten-year NFL career by retiring. This announcement follows a difficult second half of his league career due to ailments that severely restricted his availability. Jensen wrote on social media,
“With any chapter in the book of life, there is always an ending,”
“The NFL chapter of my life is coming to a close. As this chapter closes and I reflect on every aspect of my career, it makes me proud. In the hard times and good, there is always something special to learn. Retiring from the game you have loved from a very young age is always hard. I am excited for this next chapter and the new opportunities and challenges it will bring.
“Thank you to the Ravens and the Buccaneers for taking a chance on a small town Colorado kid and to the Krewe for always raising the flags.”
Ryan Jensen’s decade long career
The Baltimore Ravens selected Jensen out of CSU Pueblo in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Having played for the Ravens for his first five years of his career, he had started 25 of his 35 games during the regular season. He became the highest-paid center in the NFL when he signed a four-year, $42 million contract with the Buccaneers in free agency in 2018.
After that, he would play the most of his career in Tampa, where he would be selected to the Pro Bowl in 2021 and contribute to the team’s victory in Super Bowl LV.
Jensen was placed on injured reserve after sustaining a knee injury during training camp in the summer of 2022. Later in the season, he was activated for the Bucs’ wild-card game against the Cowboys. He played all of the offensive snaps in the loss, which turned out to be his last game in the league. After aggravating the injury in August of last year, Jensen missed the entire season.