Bucs unexpectedly reunite with Jason Pierre-Paul, and it feels like it has more to do with the locker room than the football field
It really seems like the Bucs are bringing JPP back to provide leadership and hold guys accountable during a really tough slump.
Well, it’s safe to say absolutely no one had a Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Jason Pierre-Paul reunion on their bingo card heading into Week 15 of the 2025 season.
Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bucs signed Pierre-Paul to the practice squad on Monday after a workout. The Bucs obviously liked enough of what they saw of the 36-year-old to bring him aboard. There’s also the fact that he has 38 games worth of experience in Todd Bowles’ defense. That certainly helps with an efficient transition.
It remains to be seen what the long-term idea behind this move is, though. Pierre-Paul is long in the tooth and hasn’t played professional football since the 2023 season. Therefore, it remains to be seen just how impactful he can be or if he even gets called up to the Bucs’ 53-man roster at some point.
At the same time, there’s a feeling this move means less about what Pierre-Paul can do on the field and more about what he brings to the Bucs’ locker room in terms of leadership and accountability.
Real quick, it’s not because of Haason Reddick’s ankle injury
Haason Reddick tweaked his ankle in Sunday’s loss to the Saints, so it’s logical to think this is why the Bucs added JPP. Still, FOX Sports’ Greg Auman reported shortly after the move that Reddick’s injury is not long-term, so a move like this isn’t really necessary at the moment.
Which leads perfectly to my initial thoughts on why the Bucs are making this move in the first place.
Pierre-Paul’s fiery leadership is exactly what the Bucs need right now
JPP started the Bucs’ culture movement in 2018 and laid the foundation for Tom Brady to take it to the top level in 2020. He’s widely remembered for such moments as his fiery halftime speech when the Bucs were down 17-0 to the Atlanta Falcons in 2020. The Bucs had to win the game to have a realistic shot at making the playoffs and were choking the game away, so Pierre-Paul took it upon himself to set the tone and make sure Tampa Bay got the job done in the second half.
“JPP hyped us up,” Mike Evans said on the 2020-2021 edition of Buccaneers.com’s offseason series In The Current. “He started calling everybody out, telling them, ‘We can’t do this if we want to make the playoffs. We can’t let this game slip away.’”
“We went into halftime, and JPP was just on fire,” Tom Brady added. “He was lighting everyone up [and] talking about all the different things we needed to do on offense and on defense, and showed incredible leadership. Those 30 minutes, I think, changed the whole football season.”
The Bucs are currently in an awful slump that just saw them lose to the lowly New Orleans Saints. It’s a game the Bucs should not have lost, plain and simple. Now, they’re neck and neck with the Carolina Panthers for the NFC South and have to play them twice. That series easily determines who ends up atop the NFC South, and right now, Tampa Bay is trending in the wrong direction.
Pierre-Paul can help stop that from happening by displaying his leadership and no-nonsense attitude. I could be wrong, but that’s certainly my hunch. Whatever positives he produces on the field are an added bonus. This is a smart move by the Bucs since practice squad players are constantly around the team, regardless of elevation status.
The Bucs have some solid leaders in Baker Mayfield, Tristan Wirfs, and Antoine Winfield Jr., but none of them reaches the level JPP does, and it’s not a knock on them. It’s just how the man operates.
It’s a move that can’t hurt and can help get the Bucs back on track. Sounds like a win-win, but we’ll see just how effective it is, ultimately.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers News
Todd Bowles knows how to help fix Emeka Egbuka’s drops, but it’ll be easier said than done against the Falcons
Egbuka has been a major bright spot for the Bucs, but his drops are casting a cloud over his first-year accomplishments.
