Buccaneers' Jason Pierre-Paul: October deemed earliest return date

Pierre-Paul is not expected to be ready to play until sometime in October at the earliest as a result of the cervical fracture he suffered in a May 2 car accident, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports. "I would think so, just to be safe and not rush it,'' head coach Bruce Arians noted. "And knowing him, he's one of those fast healers, so. I hate to put a time limit on it, but the earlier the better. As long as he's healthy.''

Pierre-Paul consulted with specialists in early May and opted to hold off on surgery for the time being, committing to a late-July re-evaluation instead. That examination should reveal whether the fracture has healed through rest, or whether a surgical procedure ultimately will be required. If the latter scenario comes to fruition, Pierre-Paul would be placed on the reserve/non-football injury list and miss the 2019 campaign. A season-long absence on the part of the prolific pass rusher would naturally be detrimental to an already questionable defense, but even more so considering the team lost a key pass rusher when it opted to release Gerald McCoy earlier in the offseason.