Getty Tom Brady could have one of his best blockers back on the field against the Cowboys.
While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches stay mum on Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen‘s status, the Bucs social media team may have leaked the answer.
That’s the observation of “Locked on Bucs” podcast host James Yarcho regarding the Bucs’ hype video for the Wild Card game with the Dallas Cowboys game on January 16. The video shows a clip of Jensen practicing in pads at the 27-second mark, which Yarcho claims isn’t an accident by the social media team. Jensen has been out all season due to a knee injury on the first day of training camp, but the Bucs moved him off of injured reserve on December 28 for the 21-day window for practice and possible return to competition.
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“I don’t think you put that in [the video] just as a filler,” Yarcho said on the podcast. “There’s about eight billion different half-second clips that you can use in that hype video.”
Evan Closky of WTSP, who joined the podcast, didn’t jump on board with the idea that the Bucs social media team leaked Jensen’s status. However, the TV station sports director noted that the Bucs have been guarded about Jensen’s status all season. That includes the team not revealing the exact nature of Jensen’s injury during training camp.
“It is unbelievable no matter how tapped in the most tapped-in people are, they don’t know,” Closky said about Jensen’s status.
Bucs Coaches, Tom Brady Say Little on Jensen’s Status
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles gave no further update on Monday, January 9, about Jensen. Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich deferred to Bowles regarding Jensen during a press conference on Wednesday. Quarterback Tom Brady actually spoke more at length about Jensen than Bowles or Leftwich during the “Let’s Go!” podcast on Monday but also offered little in the end.
“He’s been working pretty hard,” Brady told “Let’s Go!” co-host Jim Gray. “I don’t know the status on Monday. I think we’ll know more by the end of the week. I’m proud of him for what he’s overcome and it would be a big boost. There’s no doubt about it, but I don’t, again, know what his status is in particular.”
Brady: ‘Exciting to Get Some Guys Back’
Brady expressed confidence in the team’s overall health going into the playoffs. Tampa Bay dealt with a plethora of injuries all season, and a few more key injuries occurred in the Week 18 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, which included center Robert Hainsey‘s hamstring injury.
“We have seven days to prepare, we’ve got kind of the whole week,” Brady said on his podcast. “I’m sure everyone’s a little bit day-to-day right now. I’m hoping we’re pretty healthy. I believe we’re going to be as healthy as we’ve been all year, which is kind of exciting to get some guys back that haven’t been in there and then see if we can go play our best football.”
“I even said after the [Falcons] game, it sucks being 8-9. You’re playing against teams that have way better records, 12-5, whatever it is. But you know what? The only thing that matters is who wins that day,” Brady added.