One year later, Ryan Jensen reflects on his journey back to the NFL

TAMPA, Fla. - As Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen sat in front of the media, he opened up about what he endured while dealing with a gruesome knee injury occurring during last year’s training camp.

Eventually, he reached the chapter of this story when he arrived home on the day of his injury. A teary-eyed Jensen began to break down while recalling the conversation with his son, Wyatt.

"Yeah, it was hard," Jensen said with a shaky voice. "I remember when I came home, after that day, having to explain that to him. '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 'Hey can we go play?' It was hard, you know, to walk through that and see him broken-hearted for me."

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There was a time when Jensen was unsure if he would ever be able to return to the field. Initially, there was concern that the injury may have been career-ending.

Ryan Jensen reflects on his devastating injury last year.

"In that moment for me, it was some clarity on what's truly important," Jensen said. "You know, football is important, but family is everything."

Today, with his son in the stands, Jensen joined his teammates as Bucs fans got their first look at the 2023 roster.

After practice, Jensen was accompanied by Wyatt as the two entered the media tent, looking over towards his five-year-old son as he ruminated on the horrors he and his family had to deal with last season.

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July 28, 2023 marks 365 days since the devastating injury. One year ago, he was the victim of a freak play where another Buccaneer was blocked into his left knee, where he suffered three ligament tears, multiple fractures and a meniscus injury.

Today, Jensen credits his experience for making him a better father while rejuvenating a love for the game as he enters the 2023 season.

"It's football, people get hurt and that's the way things roll," Jensen shared. "But being a guy who'd been healthy most of my career, you can take that for granted at times. When you do get hurt, it can either re-energize you or it can crush you and for me, it re-energized me."

Jensen says telling his son about his injury was one of the hardest parts.

As he continues to rehab, Jensen finds ways to stay in good spirits. Today, he reminded the training staff what day it was.

"I joked around with Bobby (Slater) and the trainers, and they were like, 'Just don't even say it! Just don't even say it!' You kind of find some humor and some comedy behind it just because it is what it is," Jensen said. "You can't live in the past, you can't have anger and fear towards it. You just have to attack every day like a new day."

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Jensen miraculously competed in the Buccaneers final game of the 2022-2023 season where they hosted the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs. This moment brought Jenson all the way back to his rookie year.

"It brought me back to the first time I had ever ran out of the tunnel. You kind of take advantage of that, you take that for granted at times. For me, running out there for the playoff game, it re-energized me. It brought me back to that 21-year-old kid that got drafted and really reignited that fire and that passion. It just reminded me of, you know, how fast it can be over with."

One year ago, Jensen was the victim of a freak play. Courtesy: Twitter/@mrbuscnation/James Hill

It is hard to imagine the struggle that Jensen has gone through, but he hopes to pass on the lessons he has cultivated to Wyatt as he continues to grow as an athlete.

"Right now, he loves hockey. It was kind of funny because the other day, he hadn't been on skates in about three months," Jensen said. "We got back and took him over to the Ice Plex over in Brandon, and he got on the ice and was struggling to skate. He came off upset after like two minutes saying, 'I can't skate fast anymore, I can't do this,' like truly upset. Just the ability to talk to him and be like 'OK, well when daddy got hurt, it's just a step-by-step thing. You haven't done it in a minute! It's going to take a minute for you to get back.' To see him just go back out on the ice and attack it with some passion and enthusiasm and continue to get better, I hope that's something that he sees me do every day that leads him into that position as well."

One of the Bucs media correspondents said that Wyatt was explaining that he also plays baseball and is very proud of his career so far. In terms of strapping up the shoulder pads, Jensen said that Wyatt will have to wait until seventh grade before he can start playing tackle football.