Pierre-Paul’s status hints he may not play
Defensive end still recovering from fractured neck
TAMPA — Bucs outside linebacker Jason PierrePaul, currently recovering from a fractured neck injury he sustained in an offseason automobile accident, was placed on the team’s active/ non-football injury list on Wednesday.
The move means that Pierre-Paul won’t be active when the first full-squad training camp practice commences on Friday, but it also leaves the door open for a return later this season.
Pierre-Paul, who led the Bucs with 12.5 sacks last season, will count against the team’s 90-man roster and he can be taken off the list at any point during training camp before the team reaches his final 53-man active roster for the regular season.
After Pierre-Paul decided against having surgery on his neck, both he and the team eyed a possible late-September or early-October return. Coach Bruce Arians said last month that he didn’t expect Pierre-Paul to return until October at the earliest.
Even through PierrePaul, who was still wearing a bulky neck brace on his social media account as recently as earlier this week, wasn’t going to be active, he was expected to report to the Advent Health Training Center this week like all other players and be reevaluated by team doctors. That exam clearly offered optimism that Pierre-Paul could play at some point this season.
Pierre-Paul crashed his Ferrari into a concrete barrier on a rain-slicked South Florida highway on May 2, suffering a cervical fracture in his neck.
He is making a base salary of $13.65 million this season plus a $1-million roster bonus, and $7.5 of that salary became guaranteed in March, though by placing him on the NFI list, the Bucs could be eligible to recover at least a portion of his salary if they make a case that the injury voided the terms of his contract because it occurred under non-football circumstances.
The active/non-football injury list is different than the reserve/non-football injury list in that being placed on the latter ends a player’s season. Linebacker Kendell Beckwith, who hasn’t recovered from a car accident two offseasons ago, was placed on the reserve/nonfootball injury list in May.
New signees: The Bucs first training camp workout under Arians is Friday but the team still is finalizing their 90-man roster.
The Bucs on Wednesday signed former Cardinals tight end Troy Niklas and undrafted free-agent cornerback Mazzi Wilkins.
Niklas was a secondround pick out of Notre Dame under Arians in 2014 and played his first four seasons under the Bucs new coach before sitting out 2018.
He had 19 catches for 298 yards and three touchdowns in 41 games, including 18 starts. Niklas spent last spring with the Patriots but was released in late July.
Wilkins is a former Plant High and USF player. He participated in the Bucs’ rookie minicamp in May. In 47 games with the Bulls, Wilkins had 110 career tackles and three interceptions.
To make room, the Bucs waived two injured rookies: Cornerback Jalen Allison and receiver Xavier Ubosi.
Devin White hasn’t taken a snap in the NFL but the Bucs’ firstround pick already is the ninth highest-paid player on the team in terms of average salary.
Details of the linebacker’s contract posted on Spotrac says he signed a fouryear contract worth $29,315,814, or an average annual salary of $7,328,954.
The deal, which is fully guaranteed, included a signing bonus of $19,340,592.
In 2019, White will earn a base salary of $495,000 and a signing bonus of $19,340,592 while carrying a cap hit of $5,330,148. Like all first-round picks, the Bucs own a club option for a fifth year in 2023.
There is a rookie salary pool that basically helps determine salaries based on where a player is selected, with a slight increase year over year. White was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
Last season the No. 5 overall pick was North Carolina State outside linebacker Bradley Chubb. He signed a four-year $27,271,241 contract with the Denver Broncos, including a $17,913,630 signing bonus,
His average annual salary is $6,817,810.
By comparison, quarterback Jameis Winston became the highest-paid player on the team in terms of average salary when the Bucs picked up his fifthyear club option of $20.92-million.