After losing both of their starting guards from 2021, one by way of retirement and the other via free agency, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers completed the trifecta when Ryan Jensen went down with a knee injury on Thursday. For Tampa, Jensen became the third-of-three starting interior offensive linemen from 2021 who the team lost.
While it's still unclear how much time Jensen will miss, reports continue to suggest the injury is as bad as originally feared.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported later on Thursday that one source monitoring the situation claimed “it's not looking good”. On Friday, Ian Rapoport chimed in, stating the fear in Tampa is their starting center will be out for the season.
While the #Bucs await final word, the fear is Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen has suffered a season-ending knee injury, sources say. A likely frustrating end to his 2022.
Tampa’s options include internal — Robert Hainsey — or external — JC Tretter, Matt Paradis, Billy Price, etc.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 29, 2022
Head coach Todd Bowles weighed in on the situation, being upfront about Ryan Jensen's chances to return early in the season.
“We don't know the severity of it, per se, but I do know he'll miss some significant time, up to a couple months. Whether he'll be back later in the season, November or December, depends on what they find. But he won't be available any time soon.”
Unfortunately, Tampa Bay has a problem on their hands they can't ignore. Luckily for the Buccaneers, there's a quality center still on the market, and he's a perfect match.
2 Reasons JC Tretter And Tampa Bay Makes Too Much Sense To Ignore
2. Tretter is somewhere between an elite and borderline elite center
Not only has Tretter been one of the most consistent centers league-wide, but he's been one of the best.
To find a year where Tretter earned a PFF grade south of 72, you need to go back to 2017, where Tretter earned a very respectable grade of 69.1. Last year was Tretter's best, per Pro Football Focus, receiving a career-high grade of 78.7.
In pass protection, J.C. is up there with the best of the best. Only twice in the center's career has Tretter allowed more than one sack in a season, totaling just 2 sacks on both occasions.
Tretter was victorious on 97% of pass blocking attempts, ranking third-highest among centers. His pass blocking grade of 83.7 ranked second at his position, and his pass block efficiency was 99.0.
The weakest part of Tretter's game was against the run, and it wasn't very weak at all. In run blocking, the former Browns' center earned a grade of 74.8, placing top-12 at his position.
It's unclear exactly why a player of Tretter's caliber is available so late, but the Buccaneers should be beyond grateful he is. If you're Jason Licht, the team's general manager, you have to make the call sooner than later.
1. There's no reason a deal with JC Tretter should contain risk
Now 31, the chances Tretter is expecting to sign a long-term contract are slim to none. Just like with Julio Jones, a one-year deal so close to the season's start is risk free, and can only be rewarding.
According to Spotrac, the Buccaneers should have just north of $10 million left in the budget. This should be Tretter's max price point; If a team was willing to shell out more money, they would've by now.
The Buccaneers know their Pro Bowl center won't be available for a handful of months, and that's a problem. In the first month and a half of the regular season, Tampa Bay squares off against the Cowboys, Saints, Packers, Chiefs, Falcons and Steelers. 4-of-6 of these squads were playoff teams in '21, with the Packers earning the no.1 seed in the NFC. Furthermore, Kansas City reached the AFC Conference Championship Game.
Needless to say, this is a stretch of the season where you want all you have. The Buccaneers won't have Jensen, but they could have Tretter.
Robert Hainsey, a third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, is currently the center with Jensen out. The big problem here is a bulk of Hainsey's experience comes at tackle, although the 23-year-old did play 31 slaps in the interior in 2021.
Maybe Hainsey is serviceable until Jensen returns and maybe he isn't, but there's simply no need to take such a risk when a player of Tretter's caliber is available.
Best case scenario with Tretter: You don't miss a beat while Jensen is out. Worst case, you have both Jensen and Tretter. Considering the Buccaneers lost guard Alex Cappa to the Bengals in free agency, it may not be the worst idea to have both and test waters with one at guard.
Either way you look at it, there's no possible bad outcome for Tampa Bay. The money is there, the need is there, JC Tretter is there. Make it happen.
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