The Tampa Bay Buccaneers delivered some big news Monday morning, activating Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen from injured reserve.
Jensen is expected to start Monday night’s wild-card playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys, giving the Bucs offense a massive boost heading into their most important game of the year (so far).
But while Jensen’s return clears up the center position for Monday night, what about the left guard spot?
Nick Leverett has held that job down for most of the season, and acquitted himself well, but he’s listed as doubtful for Monday night’s game due to multiple injuries.
The next option would seem to be Robert Hainsey, who has started at center all season long in Jensen’s stead, but he’s also dealing with a hamstring injury, and is listed as questionable on the Bucs’ final injury report.
That could force the Bucs to go back to rookie second-round pick Luke Goedeke, who was the Week 1 starter at left guard, but struggled mightily every time he’s been in the lineup so far this year. The transition from playing right tackle at Central Michigan to left guard in the NFL has been a rocky one for Goedeke, and might not inspire a ton of confidence from Bucs fans if he’s thrust back into the starting lineup for a playoff game.
Jensen’s return is obviously a huge boost for this unit, but if Goedeke has to start at left guard Monday night as a last resort, the Bucs still might have to deal with some problems up front unless the rookie steps up his game in a big way.
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