NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ Less than six months after sustaining a serious neck injury in an offseason car accident, Bucs outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul will return to the team's active roster for Sunday's road game against the Tennessee Titans.
Pierre-Paul, who resumed practicing last week and had his first full-squad practices this week, was cleared by team doctors and will be added to the Bucs' 53-man roster on Saturday. He is currently on the non-football injury list, so he doesn't count against the 53-man roster.
How much Pierre-Paul plays against the Titans is unclear, but coach Bruce Arians said Friday that his playing time will gradually increase.
Regardless of how much he plays, his addition is a boost for the Bucs defensive front, adding another premier edge rusher to go along with outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who opened the season with a league-best nine sacks in the season's first four games, but has been held without a sack the past two games as he's been double- and triple-teamed.
Pierre-Paul, who led the Bucs with 12 { sacks last season, slammed his Ferrari into a wall while driving on slick highway roads in South Florida in the early-morning hours of May 2, suffering a fractured neck. He decided against having surgery, which likely would have ended his season before it began.
