Baker Mayfield gets real about JPP’s reunion with Bucs and knows it’s about more than just football
Mayfield is aware the Bucs need some more leadership and accountability in the locker room. Jason Pierre-Paul can help fix that.
I’m sure some folks are still trying to wrap their heads around the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ reunion with Jason Pierre-Paul, and it’s not because it’s viewed as a bad move or anything.
It was totally unexpected, and it adds a ton of intrigue when envisioning how this eventually works out. The guy is 36 years old and hasn’t played football in almost two calendar years, though he’s been working out and preparing as if he had. That, on top of the Bucs having their top-three pass rushers etched out, makes it a very curious situation.
However, as previously discussed, the hunch here is that JPP’s reunion with the Bucs is more about the locker room than what happens on the football field, and Baker Mayfield confirmed as much when he spoke with reporters on Tuesday.
“[He’s] obviously a guy that’s had a ton of production over the years,” said Mayfield. “[He] was a huge part of the Super Bowl here. [He gives] a little bit more juice in the building [and] guys get excited about that. It puts the pressure on; when you bring guys in like that, you try and elevate the standard, the performance level, and it pushes us on offense because we haven’t done enough to score enough points, quite frankly, and to put our defense in that position.
“We [have] to be better, overall, and that in-turn will improve the whole team.”
JPP is thrilled to be back in Tampa Bay, and he knows why he’s there
“It’s all about family, man. When I step in, it’s more for like family,” JPP told reporters. “[There are] some guys I don’t even know, it’s all new faces — some of them — but I’m going to get to know them, slowly but surely. We have four games left, but I’ll make the best of it getting to know each and every one on the team and try to connect with them some way somehow, whether it’s eating with them or talking about life goals or something.
“I’m going to be able to connect with the guys on the team. For the guys I do know, they already know me, so I’m just going for the faces I don’t recognize. It’s going to be awesome, man.”
The Bucs have solid leadership already, but it’s clear they needed a boost. JPP’s leadership style is one-of-one. There aren’t many like him, and the way he holds guys accountable is the kick in the ass the rest of the team needs right now, because they aren’t doing what it takes to win the games they should. Much less win the more important games at a high level.
“I think it comes back to what I’ve kind of hit on after the games we’ve lost, it’s the little things,” said Mayfield after he was asked about the struggles on offense. “Whether it’s me being on-time with my footwork, getting the protection aligned to where we can all be on the same page, and it can come out on time, the depths of the routes, all that stuff, and then it just comes down to executing. It’s not one thing you can point at, but it’s a culmination of all those things, and we’ll get it fixed.”
Where does JPP slot in?
As mentioned earlier, the Bucs have their top-three guys in Haason Reddick, Yaya Diaby, and Anthony Nelson. Chris Braswell is the fourth guy in the rotation, and then there’s Markees Watts bringing it home as the No. 5 guy, but he plays more on special teams.
Putting things like conditioning and being “in football shape” aside, the initial guess is that Pierre-Paul will be a situational player, so he may not slot in anywhere, so to speak. That makes the most sense off the bat, but we’ll see if the Bucs adjust as the weeks pass.
If he does, in fact, obtain a steady role, I can see him taking some snaps away from Nelson. I’m not talking about a 50/50 split or anything close to that, but let’s say 5-7 snaps where Nelson’s on the field could change into JPP’s reps. The same goes with Braswell, too.
Unless he’s just an immediate lightning rod, it’s hard to see him taking even one snap away from the top combo of Diaby and Reddick.
How much can JPP actually bring to the Bucs defense?
This is the $1 million question. He recorded just 5.5 sacks in the last three seasons and spent time on four different teams. His final year was 2023, and he spent most of that season on the New Orleans Saints’ and Miami Dolphins’ practice squads. The Saints didn’t elevate him until Week 12, and he played just 17 defensive snaps, resulting in two tackles in that game.
He then found himself on the Dolphins’ practice squad the next week and was even immediately elevated for their Week 13 matchup. He only played five defensive snaps across a total of two games before getting shut down for the rest of the season.
“I’ve been wanting to play football since the beginning of the year,” JPP said Tuesday. “[When the] opportunity comes, you’re there, so that’s basically what happened. There was an opportunity given, and I made the best of it.”
Any impact JPP makes should be considered a bonus at this point, and we’ll see if he can produce when his number is called.