We witnessed a bit of a miracle in the Bucs’ embarrassing 24-20 loss to the previous two-win Saints.

No, I’m not talking about cornerback Zyon McCollum actually picking off a pass.

I’m talking about second-year outside linebacker Chris Braswell actually sacking the quarterback for the first time this season.

Braswell now has one more sack this year than new Bucs outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul, who was just signed to the practice squad on Monday in a surprise move. And yes, it’s the same Pierre-Paul who played in Tampa Bay from 2018-2021 and helped the Bucs win Super Bowl LV in 2020. JPP hasn’t played in the league since 2023, so don’t expect him to come in and save the day for Todd Bowles’ struggling defense.

Braswell is only one more sack away from surpassing starting outside linebacker Haason Reddick, who has just 1.5 sacks in the nine games he’s appeared in this season. And therein lies the problem.

The fact that Reddick and Braswell have combined for just 2.5 sacks is a big reason why Pierre-Paul is back for a late-season appearance.

Bucs OLB Chris Braswell and Saints QB Tyler Shough – Photo by: USA Today

Yes, this move reeks of desperation. Kind of like last year when the Bucs brought Shaq Barrett out of retirement for a few games.

But hey, why not?

(Is Simeon Rice next? He was just here a few weeks ago for his Bucs Ring of Honor induction and looks like he can still play at age 51.)

The 7-6 Bucs are desperate for pass rush help – any pass rush help they can get as their season is slowly slipping away. Tampa Bay is 1-4 since the bye week and just 2-5 since the team’s hot 5-1 start.

Yaya Diaby’s six sacks lead the team and the entire outside linebacker room has just 12 sacks on the season. In his prime, Pierre-Paul had 12.5 sacks by himself in 2018, which was his first season in Tampa Bay. Pierre-Paul led the team in sacks with 9.5 during the 2020 regular season and added two more in the postseason.

Pierre-Paul won’t be a factor on Thursday Night Football when the Bucs host the 4-9 Atlanta Falcons. So we won’t see the almost-37-year old pass rusher trying to chase down the 37-year old Kirk Cousins, who slayed the Bucs defense twice last year, at Raymond James Stadium. The Bucs have walk-through practices on Tuesday and Wednesday prior to Thursday’s game, so Pierre-Paul won’t even put any pads on until the following week.

How The Bucs Got Desperate Enough To Sign Jason Pierre-Paul

Todd Bowles, Jason Licht and the Bucs brass went into the 2025 season with a plan and good intentions for improving their pass rush off the edge. Outside linebackers coach George Edwards was demoted to pass game coordinator and Larry Foote was moved from inside linebackers coach to replace him.

Foote had previously coached Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett from 2019-2021 as Tampa Bay’s outside linebackers coach. The belief was that Foote could do a better job of developing Yaya Diaby, who had just 4.5 sacks last season, and Chris Braswell, the team’s second-round pick in 2024, who underwhelmed as rookie with 1.5 sacks.

Former Bucs OLB Jason Pierre-Paul- Photo by: USA Today

Then the team signed 30-year old free agent Haason Reddick, who was coming off a down year with the Jets in 2024 where he had just one sack in 10 games after holding out during the offseason and training camp in a contract dispute. The Bucs were hoping that Reddick, whom Foote coached in Arizona when he entered the league, would regain his double-digit sack form that he had in four consecutive seasons from 2020-2023. Reddick was the team’s splash signing this offseason, inking a one-year deal worth $14 million.

Sensing that Braswell could be a bust, the team added yet another edge rusher through the draft, selecting small school phenom David Walker out of Central Arkansas in the fourth round.

On the depth chart heading into training camp the Bucs were hoping to have Reddick as OLB1, Diaby as OLB2, Walker as OLB3, Braswell as OLB and steady veteran Anthony Nelson as OLB5. It looked good on paper, but that plan never came to fruition.

Walker showed promise and flashed great quickness and bend this offseason – in shorts. But before the Bucs could truly see what the rookie could do, he tore his ACL during the first week of training camp and was out for the year.

Bucs OLBs coach Larry Foote and OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

While Diaby has made some strides this season and could surpass his career high with a couple more sacks, Foote has not been able to do much with Braswell, who lacks instincts and looks like a bust. Nelson has been better than Braswell and has seen more playing time as a result.

Reddick has been a free agent bust and looks like he doesn’t have much left in the tank. He’s only produced half a sack since he recorded his first sack in the season-opening win at Atlanta.

So with Reddick hobbled again with an ankle injury he suffered in Sunday’s loss to the Saints, why not re-sign Pierre-Paul, who has 94.5 sacks in his 14-year career, including 33 in Tampa Bay? Even if he’s just a situational rusher and third down specialist, maybe JPP can provide more pass rush than Braswell and Reddick can? Hey, it’s worth a shot.

Bucs OLB David Walker and TE Payne Durham – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Where general manager Jason Licht screwed up was not replacing David Walker when the rookie was lost for the year back in training camp. Walker, an instinctive pass rusher who notched 39 sacks in four years in college, showed some real promise and has been sorely missed this season. Instead of finding another edge rusher who could’ve beaten out Chris Braswell, the team merely hoped Braswell would develop in training camp and with extended reps in the preseason.

But that didn’t happen and Markees Watts, mostly a special teams contributor, took Walker’s spot on the depth chart instead.

For all of the talk about Licht standing pat at the trade deadline and not improving the pass rush a few weeks ago, the move he should have made in hindsight was a few months ago. Baltimore traded former first-round edge rusher Odafe Oweh and a seventh-round pick to the Los Angeles Chargers for safety Alohi Gilman and a sixth-round pick. The 26-year old Oweh notched 10 sacks, but fell out of favor with the Ravens and was traded after Week 5. Since landing with the Chargers, Oweh has recorded five sacks, including one against Jalen Hurts in the team’s overtime win over the Eagles on Monday Night Football.

Oweh, a fifth-year pro, now has 28 career sacks and is better than Braswell will ever be. That’s the deal Licht should have made in October.

Jason Pierre-Paul Can Bring An Edge To The Bucs

Don’t expect Jason Pierre-Paul, who turns 37 on January 1, to step in and make a big impact with the Bucs as a pass rusher. Or any impact, really.

Shaq Barrett was a shell of his former self last year when he came out of retirement to try to help the team. It was clear that Barrett lost a step and went back into retirement for the 2025 season.

Pierre-Paul has likely also lost a step – and it looked that way years ago when he had just 2.5 sacks in his final season in Tampa Bay and when he notched three sacks in 14 games with Baltimore in 2022.

Bucs DT Ndamukong Suh and OLB Jason Pierre-Paul – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But where Pierre-Paul can help the Bucs is with the edge that he brings. JPP is an old school player who was brought up in this league among Giants greats like Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka. He has a fiery demeanor and plays with a lot of energy. Pierre-Paul is physical and plays hard. He doesn’t put up with a lot of crap and has a track record of speaking up and holding his teammates accountable.

Walking in the door with a Super Bowl ring from his previous time in Tampa Bay gives him some immediate clout. If JPP does nothing other than light a fire on a defense that is stone cold right now, his addition will be worth it. Pierre-Paul plays with an edge – an edge that has been sorely lacking on Tampa Bay’s defense since both he and former Super Bowl champion defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh departed after the 2021 season.

Now it’s up to Jason Licht to find a new, younger version of Pierre-Paul in the draft or free agency to help the Bucs pass rush next year as Haason Reddick won’t be back.