If you bring the salsa, Bucs new center Ryan Jensen will bring the chips.

On the first weekend of free agency, the Buccaneers signed Jensen to a four-year, $42 million deal with $22 million guaranteed. On Monday, he addressed the media at One Buc Place for the first time.

Jensen, a former D-II college player, said that when he went through the free agency process, it was really the first time he had ever been recruited in his life.

“It was a whirlwind of an experience,” Jensen said. ” There were quite a few other teams that wanted me to sign with them. I had never been recruited before. I wanted to make sure I chose the best place for my family.”

In 2017, Jensen was part of an offensive line that tied for the seventh-fewest sacks allowed (27) in the league, while rushing for an 11th-highest 116.0 yards per game. Jensen helped block for Ravens running back Alex Collins last season, who averaged 4.59 yards per carry, the ninth-highest average in the NFL.

Jensen said that there were many buyers for his services once the NFL’s new year rolled around, but ultimately he chose Tampa Bay because of the fit for his style and as a place to bring his family. Jensen said the Bucs didn’t do anything too unique to court him to their organization, but that he did have dinner with offensive guard Ali Marpet and offensive tackle Donovan Smith when he was making his visit last Thursday.

“I went to dinner with Ali [Marpet] and Donovan [Smith] on my trip,” Jensen said. ” They seem like great guys. They’re on board with changing this team and turning this things around. [They’re] excited to get going and to start winning some games.”

It hasn’t been an easy road for Jensen.

Jensen was drafted by the Ravens in the sixth round, 203rd overall, in the 2013 NFL Draft. One year later, Jensen was released by the Ravens and was signed to the practice squad the next day and wasn’t promoted to the active roster on December 16, 2014.

During that 2014 season, Jensen was also diagnosed with sleep apnea, a diagnosis that he says took some adjusting to, but one that ultimately saved his career. Jensen passed a sleep apnea test when he was a junior at Colorado State University-Pueblo, but the more detailed study he went through in 2014 showed he was not breathing for up to 40 seconds at a time during his sleep. He said doctors told him that in the nine hours he spent in bed, he was getting just 90 minutes of actual sleep.

“It changed my life; it might have even saved my life,” Jensen said. “Sleep apnea is a very dangerous thing for people to deal with. My second year going into camp, I didn’t know I had it, at that time. My body was just falling apart, I wasn’t healing, I went from about 315 pounds to 290 pounds in two weeks. After I got diagnosed with it and started my therapy, my body came back and it was life changing.”

Ravens C Ryan Jensen – Photo by: Getty Images

Jensen became a full-time starter for the Ravens in 2017, starting in all 16 games at center. He attributes part of that to him being in the best shape of his life last offseason, and the rest to the constant chip on his shoulder that he plays with.

Jensen said that when you come from a background like he does, you can never forget it – it’s like a chip on his shoulder he loves to carry. You always have to remember that you were a small school guy; you always have to remember that you were a late round draft pick; you always have to remember that you were once cut by a team.

“I kind of see myself as a tone-setter up front,” Jensen said. “Some people say I play the game the way they did back in the 80’s, and I take that as a compliment… I think I get that style from my college coach. I was an undersized guy going into college. The only way that I could survive was to play nasty and play physical… When you know where you came from, you never want to go back to that place.”

The chip weights more than that second contract Jensen finally was able to sign with the Buccaneers, and Jensen’s plan, along with the rest of the offensive line, is to bring the chips in 2018.