Jason Pierre-Paul, a no-show for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ organized training activities, reported to mandatory minicamp on Monday.
Pierre-Paul lost out on a workout bonus of $250,000 by staying away from OTAs, which are not mandatory. More important to the coaching staff, he missed an early opportunity to get familiar with the defense under coordinator Mike Smith.
Pierre-Paul, 29, an eight-year veteran, was acquired from the New York Giants in March for a third-round draft pick. He had 8.5 sacks for the Giants last season and has 58.5 in his eight seasons.
His absence from OTAs didn’t seem to ruffle many feathers.
“We’d love to have everybody here. That’s a perfect world, and we don’t live in a perfect world, unfortunately,” Tampa Bay coach Dirk Koetter said last week.
Koetter and Tampa Bay players said they have been in touch with Pierre-Paul during camp.
Fellow defensive end Vinny Curry, who joined the Bucs as a free agent this offseason, expects a seamless transition when mandatory minicamp starts on Tuesday.
“At the end of the day, he’s gonna fit right in because of the type of player he is,” Curry said. “Just because he’s not here doesn’t mean we don’t talk to him. It ain’t like he’s giving us the cold shoulder, but at the end of the day, he’s in tune with his teammates and you know what type of player he is. …
“He’s been top five, top 10 at his position for a very long time, so who am I or anybody to question him? You know what he’s gonna bring (in camp).”
–Field Level Media
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