Center Ryan Jensen is about to see a sizable raise in his salary. The now-former-Baltimore Raven has agreed to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a four-year contract worth $42 million. The pact makes Jensen the NFL’s new highest-paid center. Of the $42 million total, a reported $22 million is guaranteed.
The deal was first reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
The #Bucs signed C Ryan Jensen to a four-year, $42 million deal with $22M guaranteed, source said. Big.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 17, 2018
Jensen’s NFL career got off to a slow start after being drafted in the sixth round (203rd overall) by Baltimore out of Colorado State-Pueblo. The Ravens cut Jensen twice between 2013 and 2014, plus had him stashed on the practice squad for an additional amount of time. At various times, he saw time at the left and right guard spots. But he relentlessly ascended the depth chart to become Baltimore’s starting center and is now regarded as being one of the premier players at his position. Safe to say: Ryan Jensen’s time on the roster bubble or on the practice squad is over for the foreseeable future. Jensen was a bright spot on a Ravens line who was in desperate need of help last season after seeing their elite-level guard Marshal Yanda suffered a season-ending injury.
As for the Buccaneers side, it’s obvious they were unhappy with their offensive line play overall last season and are looking to upgrade their protection of Jameis Winston. Winston will now have a new face in charge of snapping him the ball and keeping him upright in the 26-year-old Jensen.
Ryan Jensen was inactive for all 16 games as a rookie. Was waived in his second season before landing back on Ravens practice squad. After a breakout 2017 season, he’s now highest paid center in league. Kudos to him. Ravens could turn to Matt Skura at center.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) March 17, 2018
