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Bucs Elevate Jason Pierre-Paul For Sunday’s Matchup

Originally posted on PewterReport.com | By Matt Matera | Last updated Dec 27, 2025 8:53 PM ET

The Bucs announced that they are elevating outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul up from the practice squad for Tampa Bay’s week 17 game against the Dolphins. This is the second game in a row that JPP is elevated for after signing with the team three weeks ago.

It was all but guaranteed that Pierre-Paul was going to get called up when Anthony Nelson was ruled out, and it was known even before that when co-defensive coordinator Larry Foote said that JPP would be playing more.

Bucs Giving Pierre-Paul Extra Snaps

“He is going to get more snaps this week,” Foote said on Wednesday. ‘Last week, I thought he had a great week of practice. I’ve been getting on him because he fell down a couple times throughout those 12 snaps, so [we] had him on the sled today, make sure he gets those football legs back. I’ve been having a little fun with him in the meeting room, he did trip over the one guy’s foot, but he [has] to get into football shape.”

Pierre-Paul played for the first time in over two seasons last week. He was in for 12 snaps and did not record a statistic. There was certainly rust to knock off, but maybe Pierre-Paul can bring a spark to the Bucs’ pass rush that has been absent for a while.

The veteran edge rusher played just one less snap than second year outside linebacker Chris Braswell. That’s pretty telling for how the Bucs feel about Braswell since he should be developing and has been here all season long. They’ll each be backiung up Yaya Diaby and Haason Reddick.

Pierre-Paul and company will be going against rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers in his second career start, so ideally, they’ll have chances to get to him on the pass rush. However, nothing has come easy for the Bucs lately. Tampa Bay has lost six of seven games and need a win to keep their playoff hopes afloat.

This article first appeared on Pewter Report and was syndicated with permission.

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