Ryan Jensen (born May 27, 1991) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

center for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was drafted by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

in the sixth round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

Early years

Jensen was born in

Rangely, Colorado Rangely is a Statutory Town in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,365 at the 2010 census. Description The town is home to one of two campuses of the Colorado Northwestern Community College. A post office called ...

, and attended Fort Morgan High School. He was selected to the All-State first-team while in high school. He also was named to the all-conference.

College career

In his sophomore season, he was selected to the All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Second-team along with being selected to the All-Colorado Second-team by National Football Foundation. Jensen was a Gene Upshaw Award finalist in his senior year at

Colorado State University Pueblo Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) is a public university in Pueblo, Colorado. It is a member of the Colorado State University System (CSU System) and a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). History 1933 to 1959 The idea for startin ...

. He finished fifth in the voting. Jensen was also selected to participate in the 2013 Texas vs. the Nation all-star game following his senior season.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Jensen was drafted by the Ravens in the sixth round with the 203rd overall pick in the

. On August 30, 2014, Jensen was released by the Ravens and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 16, 2014. Jensen became a full-time starter for the Ravens in 2017, starting in all 16 games at center.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 19, 2018, Jensen signed a four-year, $42 million contract with the

with $22 million guaranteed, making him the highest paid center in the NFL, as

Ali Marpet Alexander "Ali" Marpet (; born April 17, 1993) is an American former professional football guard who played seven seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). Marpet played college football at Hobart and William S ...

moved from center to left guard to accommodate him. He was the Buccaneers' center in their Super Bowl LV victory on February 7, 2021. Jensen was among the three

offensive linemen to be named to the National Football Conference 2021 Pro Bowl roster, a first for all three. On March 14, 2022, Jensen signed a three-year, $39 million contract extension with the Buccaneers. On July 28, 2022, Jensen experienced a severe knee injury during Buccaneers training camp and had to be carted off the field. He was placed on injured reserve on September 1, 2022. He was activated for the wild card round of the playoffs on January 16, 2023. On August 29, 2023, Jensen was placed on injured reserve after aggravating his previous knee injury.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bioCSU–Pueblo ThunderWolves bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Ryan 1991 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Baltimore Ravens players CSU Pueblo ThunderWolves football players People from Fort Morgan, Colorado People from Rangely, Colorado Players of American football from Colorado Tampa Bay Buccaneers players National Conference Pro Bowl players