In an effort to bring more of a pressure on opposing quarterbacks, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this offseason made the decision to acquire former Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul from the New York Giants.
Since the trade, there was much attention drawn to Pierre-Paul's decision to skip out on voluntary OTAs for what he deemed as a choice made because he needed to relocate his family along with his comfort level on the field already.
According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, this something that head coach Dirk Koetter has voiced that he is fine with the 29-year-old missing out that portion of the offseason workouts.
“When JPP first told me he wasn't going to be at the first part of OTAs, he said, ‘Coach, I've been doing this a long time; there's only so many things a defensive end has to do,' ” Koetter said. “I think he's done a good job. You can tell — we all know who he is from afar but when he gets here, he's a big man and he's long, 280 pounds. He plays the run a lot better than people think he does so, he's going to be fine.”
Pierre-Paul is an established veteran has knows the ins and out of the offseason for what he is required to do to get ready for the upcoming campaign. The fact that he had constant communication with Koetter likely eased any possible tension from rising on either side.
The Buccaneers are hoping that Pierre-Paul can help provide them with a much-needed boost with their pass-rushing presence. Last season, Tampa Bay notched a league-worst 22 sacks with Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy being responsible for a team-best 6.0 of that total.
Pierre-Paul has shown he can be a huge factor in that aspect of the game garnering 58.0 sacks in his first eight seasons in the league. He is also coming off a respectable year where he notched 68 total tackles with 8.0 sacks and two forced fumbles. All of this should lend well to him having that same level of impact in his first campaign in Tampa Bay.
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