Just hours after Tom Brady announced he was coming out of retirement, the Bucs made sure he had his center back as well, signing veteran Ryan Jensen to a new three-year deal worth $39 million.
Jensen, 30, has been Tampa Bay’s starting center the last four years, helping establish a toughness and physicality that carried through the whistle. He was ranked as the top center in this free agent class and No. 18 overall free agent in this class by The Athletic’s Sheil Kapadia.
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How he fits: With left guard Ali Marpet’s retirement and right guard Alex Cappa as a coveted free agent, the Bucs stood to lose all three interior offensive lineman from their Super Bowl team if things didn’t go right. With Jensen back in the fold, they now have three top O-linemen back in him and tackles Donovan Smith and Tristan Wirfs. Brady is very particular about his centers, even regarding how they can limit the inevitable “swamp ass” aspect of things.
Well I guess I better order some more baby powder. LFG!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/dfhJaPqxi7
— Ryan Jensen (@sinjen66) March 14, 2022
2022 impact: Jensen anchors the offensive line — which finished with the lowest sack percentage of any team in the league while protecting Brady last season. His return means 2021 third-round pick Robert Hainsey is likely to stay in a backup role unless he’s able to compete for one of the still-vacant starting guard spots. Jensen made his first Pro Bowl this past season, so this is a big signing to bring back someone seen as one of the best centers in the NFL last year.
History: Jensen is the kind of underdog-overcoming-the-odds story the Bucs love to have on their roster. He played at tiny Colorado State-Pueblo in college, was a sixth-round pick of the Ravens but didn’t play a snap his rookie year, and he played in only one game and got cut his second year. Yet he has molded himself into an absolute leader. He played out his initial four-year deal with the Bucs, and when you add on this one, it’s $81 million in earnings over seven seasons.
Cap update: Jensen was an expensive signing, but the Bucs are again using tricks to bump much of his salary-cap burden into future seasons. He signed a three-year deal with two voidable years attached to it, so while he’s making $13 million a year, his cap number for 2022 looks to be around $4 million. We don’t know the exact breakdown, but let’s say he plays for the veteran minimum of $1.12 million with a $12 million signing bonus, then regular $13 million salaries in 2023 and 2024. That signing bonus can be pro-rated over all five years for cap purposes, so his cap number would be just the $1.12 million base salary, and $2.4 million for the pro-rated bonus, or $3.52 million for this year. Jensen has $23 million fully guaranteed, which means he’ll be the Bucs’ center for at least two more years.
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Outlook: Like bringing back Chris Godwin on the franchise tag, re-signing Jensen is a great first step ahead of free agency, and reminds the other top free agents that he thinks Tampa Bay can again compete for a championship with Brady back. There’s a positive momentum entering free agency, but the Bucs have 21 other free agents and will have to be creative (and lucky) to bring the best of them back as they did with Jensen.
(Photo of Ryan Jensen: Bill Streicher / USA Today)