Jason Pierre-Paul proved victorious in his regular season debut with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past Sunday.
Riding the hot right arm of Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tampa Bay pulled up a surprising 48-40 road win over the defending NFC South champion New Orleans Saints.
Unfortunately for the former New York Giants Pro Bowler, he suffered a knee injury during the game and didn’t make much of an impact.
Heading into Tampa Bay’s Week 2 outing against the Philadelphia Eagles, it doesn’t look like JPP will be available for that one.
In talking to the media on Wednesday, Pierre-Paul noted that his knee was “jacked up.” This comes after he was seen in a knee brace earlier in the week.
Jason Pierre Paul has a brace on his right knee. "My knee is jacked up. Banged up. Ask me if I can play Sunday, I don't know."
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) September 12, 2018
Pierre-Paul might not have made much of an impact in his Buccaneers debut, but the team traded for him as a way to provide outside pressure with the likes of Gerald McCoy dominating inside. It’s an area that Tampa had struggled with a ton in the past.
Now set to take on the defending champs, Tampa Bay could be without their most proven outside pass rusher. That’s a less-than-ideal scenario.