Buccaneers Insider Sheds Insight on O-Line Depth Chart Amidst JC Tretter Retirement

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were dealt a brutal blow a few weeks ago when starting center Ryan Jensen suffered a worrisome knee injury. It left fans wondering if the team would seek outside help, but one insider recently shed some light on that idea. The help is coming from inside, instead.

Sorry #Bucs, fans. Robert Hainsey is your center – whether you like it or not.

Actually, Hainsey is playing very well and the team had confidence in him the whole time. Tampa Bay believes in Nick Leverett, too. The Bucs were never interested in Tretter – as we reported. https://t.co/vqYYdpXLYA
— PewterReport (@PewterReport) August 25, 2022

Tampa Bay Buccaneers News

Rumors started to swirl almost immediately after Jensen's injury that veteran free agent JC Tretter would be considered as a replacement. After all, his eight years of experience would come in handy for a relatively young O-line. That rumor was put to bed on Thursday when Tretter announced his retirement.

PewterReport confirmed that Tampa Bay was never interested in Tretter and is moving forward with Robert Hainsey as the team's starting center. While the 2021 third-round pick played in only 31 offensive snaps as a rookie, he has been impressing the coaching staff throughout training camp.

Hainsey was praised throughout the NFL Draft process for his ability to leverage opponents at the point of attack and time his blocks on rushing plays. Translating those skills to the next level is going to be huge considering the Buccaneers averaged only 98.4 rushing yards per game in 2021 (No. 26).

Tampa Bay has expressed confidence in Nick Leverett, too. The second-year pro is fighting for a starting guard gig after Aaron Stinnie went down with an injury. Leverett allowed one sack and drew two penalties across 69 offensive snaps played during the 2021 regular season and playoffs.

The Buccaneers have odds set at +750 to win Super Bowl 57, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.