Robert

Hainsey

$13 million in guaranteed money for Hainsey, and the crowd goes wild citing Tommy Condon of CAA’s work on the deal. The last time we blurbed about Hainsey it was in the context of the 2023 Buccaneers, who had Hainsey ready to step in for Ryan Jensen at center. Hainsey was rough in 2023 and replaced by Graham Barton after he was selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The 2021 third-round pick will, judging by the size of the contract, be the favorite to start over Luke Fortner at center in Jacksonville.

Jensen was placed on IR and will miss the 2023 season. The 32-year-old has been dealing with knee injuries the last two seasons and opted to not have surgery last year. Jensen retiring would help the Bucs, who would leave $4.7 million in dead money to release Jensen as a post-June cut next offseason. Tampa will turn to Robert Hainsey as the starting center in 2023.

Tampa Bay is holding out hope Jensen can return late in the year, but odds are his season is still over after suffering a knee injury in practice this month. The Bucs are handing the keys over to 2021 third-rounder Robert Hainsey at center.

It’s a huge sigh of relief for Buccaneers players, coaches, and fans. Hainsey is in line to start at center, following Ryan Jensen’s knee injury, and reportedly looks up to the challenge. As decades of television commentary have taught us, Tom Brady is susceptible to pressure up the middle. Having a reliable starter at center will be critical to the Buccaneers’ offensive success this season.

Hainsey was thrust into a critical role for the Buccaneers when Ryan Jenson suffered a knee injury on July 28th. The second-year player out of Notre Dame had reportedly been “looking great” per ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, to the point that the Buccaneers were not expected to look for an outside replacement for Jensen. That will need to change if Hainsey suffered a serious injury as well.

With Ryan Jensen facing a long-term absence after suffering a knee injury early in camp, the Bucs are scrambling a bit at center. A third-round pick last year, Hainsey is the next man up. “Every day he’s facing Akiem Hicks and Vita Vea,” coach Todd Bowles told King. “If that can’t get you ready for the season, I don’t know what will.” The coach added he is not particularly worried about the situation. Still, this is an uncertain situation for a team squarely in win-now mode. It would not be surprising if the Bucs look to a free agent like J.C. Tretter to shore up the depth chart.

Bowles also added to his response, “We’ve been in shorts and t-shirts. That will work itself out as training camp goes, and depending on how that works out, we’ll see if we go outside of the house or not.” The Bucs currently has linemen Robert Hainsey and Nick Leverett on the roster, who have appeared in a combined 11 games and seen little time at center. Free agent J.C. Tretter remains another interesting option, as the 31-year-old remains on the market after spending the last five seasons with the Browns.

Hainsey (6'5/306) was a three-year starter at the OL factory that is Notre Dame. He played right tackle for the Fighting Irish and really came on strong in his final season, earning second-team All-ACC honors while helping the team’s line finish as finalists for the Joe Moore Award (best OL unit in college football). Unlike the typical right tackle stereotype, Hainsey is not particularly bulky or powerful; he plays with adequate strength, both on the ground and in his pass sets, but his success is more related to smooth pass sets and movement in space (7.53 three-cone). The worry with Hainsey is his terribly short 32 1/8th inch arms, which may force him to transition to guard sooner rather than later. He’s a long shot to be an impact starter but has the tools to be a high-quality swing tackle with some potential flexibility at guard.

Hainsey (6'5/306) was a three-year starter at the OL factory that is Notre Dame. He played right tackle for the Fighting Irish and really came on strong in his final season, earning second-team All-ACC honors while helping the team’s O-line finish as finalists for the Joe Moore Award (best OL unit in college football). Unlike the typical right tackle stereotype, Hainsey is not particularly bulky or powerful; he plays with adequate strength, both on the ground and in his pass sets, but his success is more related to smooth pass sets and movement in space (7.53 three-cone). The worry with Hainsey is his terribly short 32-1/8th inch arms, which may force him to transition to guard sooner rather than later. He’s a long shot to be an impact starter, but has the tools to be a high-quality swing tackle with some potential flexibility at guard.

Hainsey (6'5/290) has appeared in each of Notre Dame’s ten games this season, filling the starting right tackle role. It’s worth noting that on its list of invitees who have accepted that the senior offensive lineman is listed as a guard/center. So it’s possible that Hainsey will be asked to shift inside at the level. Hainsey projects to be a Day 3 selection in this spring’s draft, and Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline has given him a sixth-round grade.