One Year Later: Buccaneers Center Ryan Jensen Reflects on Knee Injury

This time last year we were getting nothing but bad news after Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen injured his knee in training camp. This year, the tone is a bit different, all around.

Let's be honest, this time last year we were all a little panicky about what was going to happen with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after center Ryan Jensen injured his knee at the beginning of training camp. 

As rough as it may have been for us to cover the Buccaneers at that time, for fans to endure, and for his teammates to try and step up for, nobody felt the pain of that injury more than Jensen himself who recently looked back at the year since the injury occurred.

"It is actually ironic that today is actually one year ago today that I got hurt," Jensen said on Friday. "It was a journey, that is for sure. Right after you go get all the imaging done, all this and that, you start sending that out to all different doctors, and I had five separate opinions."

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Ultimately, Jensen opted for the path that avoided surgery - can't say I blame him - and not only is he back with the team this training camp, he was able to make his return to the NFL playing field at the end of last season.

His appearance in the Wild Card loss to the Dallas Cowboys was a silver lining to an otherwise disappointing final ride with quarterback Tom Brady.

Again, as much as it meant to us, it meant more to Jensen.

"It meant everything to me," Jensen said about the game. "It was a crazy road. Looking back, I probably shouldn't have played, but at the same time I wanted to go out there, help the team, and be out there with my guys."

The saying, 'No Harm, No Foul', comes to mind after Jensen's comments, and he confirmed later that playing against the Cowboys had no negative impact on his recovery. 

In fact, it may have had one of the best impacts it could have on the process.

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A sound mind can heal faster, and undoubtedly Jensen drew confidence in his chosen recovery path once he played in and got through the Dallas game relatively healthy.

As Tampa Bay prepares to put on full pads next week for the first time, their All-Pro caliber center is preparing to be at his best when he next steps on the playing field. 

Whenever that is, Bucs fans are going to love having him back. And will be more than happy to be on this side of that terrible scene we witnessed last July.

And we'd bet Jensen is even happier.

Find David Harrison on Twitter @DHarrison82

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