Buccaneers Rumors: TB Will Try Hard to Keep Ryan Jensen amid Links to Bengals, More

Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen reportedly "has the attention" of the New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens ahead of free agency, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano, and could be a "hot commodity and rake in a nice payday."

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN added that "the Bucs will try hard to get something done with Jensen. They feel he's among the best centers in the league, maybe the best, when in their system. If that costs $15 million per year—which it very well might—then that might be worth it."

Aaron Wilson of the Pro Football Network added that a "robust market" is expected for the top free-agent centers, Jensen and Baltimore's Bradley Bozeman. He reported that general manager Jason Licht will "do everything possible" to retain him. 

The Bucs face a pretty huge offseason after Tom Brady and Ali Marpet retired. Alongside Jensen, key players like wideout Chris Godwin, cornerback Carlton Davis, guard Alex Cappa, safety Jordan Whitehead, running back Leonard Fournette, tight end O.J. Howard and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh are all free agents. 

And if veteran tight end Rob Gronkowski chooses to continue his playing career, he'll also be a free agent. 

So the Bucs have a lot of talent they'll be looking to retain, and that's before even addressing the quarterback situation. If Brady stays retired, the Bucs will need to identify a quality replacement capable of keeping a loaded roster in contention. 

When the Bucs won the Super Bowl in 2021, they managed to bring back just about every key player from that squad. Replicating that feat will be a tough trick to pull this offseason, and if the Bucs don't wrap up a new deal with Jensen and a team makes him a huge, above-market offer, they'll have a tough choice to make. 

Jensen was a Pro Bowler last season, hasn't missed a game since 2016 and is a tough, physical player inside. But he isn't without his downsides:

Still, the Bucs can't afford to lose too many key offensive players. Retaining Jensen has to be a major priority.