Key members of the Cincinnati Bengals have made it clear the team will do whatever it takes to attack the offensive line this season.
That has led some to speculate that Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen, one of the biggest names slated to be a free agent, could be a target. He’s been consistently mentioned, even when experts whisper about the Bengals going after other guys.
But that doesn’t mean the Buccaneers would make things easy on the Bengals’ desire to land the market’s top center.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler pointed out that Tampa Bay is desperate to keep Jensen:
“…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.”
Makes sense — not only is Jensen a very, very good player, the Buccaneers would like to keep the contention window open even after the loss of Tom Brady and the retirement of elite guard Ali Marpet. An AAV of $15 million per year would be a stunning escalation for the position and likely make Jensen the highest-paid player in Cincinnati.
This sort of escalation on the market by a team desperate to keep one of their own could mean the Bengals bow out of a bidding war. And that’s more than just business per usual for the front office — a huge number on Jensen could go toward potentially upgrading two different spots on the line instead of just one.
Granted, this doesn’t mean the Bengals won’t spend big on the market. But they’ve got a number in mind to spend and if a team like the Buccaneers skews the market too hard, they’ll look elsewhere.
