TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Exactly a year ago, Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen suffered a devastating knee injury that made him sit out all but just one game last year.
Jensen opened up about his experience during training camp on Friday and how it affected his son, Wyatt, who saw him struggle firsthand.
“When I came after that day, having to explain that to him like ‘Hey, dad got hurt today, I’m not going to be able to play football this year,’ and then ten minutes later, he’s like ‘Can we go play?’ and I’m like in a cast, and I can’t walk. I can’t do this. So, it was hard,” Jensen recalled.
It was both challenging physically and mentally for the NFL veteran, who has spent most of his career healthy. To see Wyatt devastated for him opened his eyes to more than just football.
“To walk through that and see him brokenhearted for me, you know it just put a different perspective on stuff, but yeah, it was tough. It’s just helped me see things in a different perspective and not take advantage of stuff.”
Jensen came back to play in the Wild Card game in 2021. He said on Friday that he probably shouldn’t have played.
Head coach Todd Bowles and the Bucs training staff have Jensen on a plan to get healthy.
He was at training camp on Friday, but his participation was limited.
