Tampa Should Think About Cutting JPP Published by on

Last offseason, Tampa made a late move trading a third round pick for Jason Pierre-Paul, better known as JPP. JPP was a staple of the New York Giants defense for years. The Bucs brought in JPP in an attempt to bring some tenacity to the defensive line and give then-Buccaneer Gerald McCoy some much needed help.

2018 would be a bountiful one for JPP, amassing 12.5 sacks, breaking Tampa’s double-digit sack drought for the first time since the Simeon Rice era. While the Buccaneers record did not pan out the way JPP and his teammates had hoped, he was a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy season.

JPP would look to add on to his impressive first year with Tampa, constantly taking to social media to show how hard he was working to bring winning back to Tampa under the new regime of Bruce Arians and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. Unfortunately, in Early May of this year, JPP suffered a single-vehicle accident when his car hydroplaned and crashed.

When it was announced, it seemed as if JPP was fine with media saying he was in good spirits and “doing fine” until it was later announced that he had fractured his neck and could likely miss the entire 2019 NFL season, possibly needing surgery to support his neck.

With that being said, Tampa Bay should think about cutting JPP.

First and foremost, before football comes health, and a fractured neck is nothing to brush off. Further complications, numbness, loss of coordination and other symptoms can wreak havoc on the body when the spine is compromised. If JPP is required to have surgery to further support his neck, there’s a very good chance he wouldn’t be cleared to play this season.

Even without surgery, JPP could miss an extensive amount of time, and would likely

Not be in football shape until into November, nearly the end of the season. Pierre-Paul could also decide it’s not worth the risk of further injury, with again the spine being so fragile. Not that JPP wouldn’t want to play, but at 30, there is still life after football.

There’s also the issue of the 14.9 million dollar cap hit that goes for JPP this season. Not that the play hasn’t backed the price, but 14.9 million for a player who isn’t on the field is quite a bit. Tampa could use that extra money to try and trade for a player of Jadaveon Clowney’s likelihood and give Ndamukong suh and Vita Vea another big man to create a three headed monster on the defensive line.

If Tampa were to cut JPP, they’d lose arguably the most successful on-paper defensive end since Simeon Rice, and the player that helped free up others to create plays, their most feared player on the defensive side of the ball. JPP still has a motor and plenty left in the tank, and could come back as early as October, with no new report having come out on his condition. Can Tampa afford to risk it for the biscuit and pull the trigger on the pink slip just for JPP to come back but on another team?

Tampa has a decision to make and there is not a lot of time to make it.

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