Bucs Gameday

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Receive a Scare During Training Camp

Did the Buccaneers' take another hit at the center position?

Collin Haalboom

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It appeared as though things had gone from bad to worse for the Buccaneers -- at least in terms of the center position.

The team's 2021 third-round draft pick out of Notre Dame, Robert Hainsey, was recently thrust into the starting role after the team's Pro-Bowl center, Ryan Jensen, sustained a serious knee injury early in training camp.

Hainsey had been saying and doing all the right things since Jensen went down, with coaches and teammates all expressing their confidence in the young offensive lineman's skills and mentality to fill the void left by Jensen's injury.

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Well according to reports coming out of the Bucs joint practices with the Miami Dolphins, Hainsey sustained what appeared to be an injury of his own today.

According to Greg Auman of The Athletic, no specific updates had been provided in regards to the severity or nature of Hainsey's leg injury. Hainsey was carted off the field. 

Despite the troubling initial report, Ian Rapoport was quick to diagnose the injury in as few words as possible.

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Assuming Rapoport is correct, then Bucs fans can all join in on a collective sigh of relief

Regardless of how severe this injury might be though, one has to assume the team's potential to consider signing a veteran center (J.C. Tretter maybe?) will have increased from this scare. 

Versatile interior offensive lineman, Nick Leverett, will slide into Hainsey's position along the center of the line for now. 

Stay tuned for further updates.

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Collin Haalboom
COLLIN HAALBOOM

Prior to joining BucsGameday and Sports Illustrated, Collin's written content was provided through Bucs Banter, and NFL Draft Lounge. He is also the creator and host of the Bucs Banter Podcast. He is a graduate of the Communication Studies program at McMaster University, where he was also a varsity basketball player, and later an advanced scout. He lives with his wife and two children in Hamilton, ON. You can follow Collin on YouTube and Twitter.