Ryan Jensen finally reveals the details of his serious knee injury, unlikely return for postseason

To say the least, Jensen is one tough dude.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended their 2022-23 campaign with a 31-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL's Wild Card Round. The Cowboys built a 24-0 lead into the third quarter behind a strong performance from Dak Prescott as well as their defense. The Buccaneers enter the offseason with a plethora of questions to answer.

While it may go undervalued due to the defeat, the offense got a much-needed boost with the return of All-Pro center Ryan Jensen. In his first appearance of the season following a knee injury early in training camp, Jensen played 80 snaps and didn't appear to be limited.

After the game, Jensen spoke with the media in the Buccaneers' locker room, where he finally opened up on the severity of his knee injury. The ailment included three ligament tears, multiple fractures, and a meniscus injury. 

"It was a pretty severe injury which a lot of people I know were confused on why I didn't have surgery but I ended up tearing my MCL, ACL, PCL. I flipped my meniscus, I had a fracture, and another little bone chip thing," Jensen said after the game. "It was a major injury, I was fortunate as I could be with the way the injury happened where I didn't have to have surgery and it was able to heal on its own. Five months and trying to come back off of that. Some call it dumb but I'm a football player and football players play football."

Bucs C Ryan Jensen details the knee injury that kept him out from August until tonight: pic.twitter.com/Ca9KuWncuf

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) January 17, 2023

For Jensen to return roughly six months after his initial injury, let alone for the intensity of an NFL playoff game, says a lot about his work ethic during the rehab process and toughness. Typically, these are the types of setbacks that take nine months or longer for a player to get back onto the field. Jensen is a special breed of athlete who wanted to contribute to his team during the toughest test of the season.

Star quarterback Tom Brady, who has built a strong rapport with Jensen during his three years with the franchise, offered his thoughts on having his starting center back against the Cowboys.

"Just super proud of him and all that he's gone through this year. That's a tough injury that he had," Brady said after the game. "Had to go all the way back and really committed himself the last six to eight weeks to prepare himself to play and did it. Says a lot about who he is. Certainly a guy who you can depend on and count on."

The rehab process will likely continue into the offseason as Jensen probably still isn't 100% yet. The time off comes at an ideal time as he can recover to get himself fully healthy for Tampa Bay's offseason program.

Jensen is under contract with the franchise through the 2024 season. Up until this year, he had never missed a regular season or postseason game since joining the Buccaneers in 2018.

Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2023 offseason

Follow BucsGameday on Twitter and Facebook