Bucs medical staff evaluating Pierre-Paul after car crash

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The status of Tampa Bay’s Jason Pierre-Paul for the upcoming season is uncertain following a single-car accident last week near his home in South Florida.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers said Tuesday that the club’s medical staff is conducting a “thorough evaluation” of the star defensive end, who was treated and released from a hospital after a single-car crash on May 2.

ESPN reported that Pierre-Paul, obtained from the New York Giants in a trade in 2018, may have suffered a neck fracture that could sideline him all of next season.

“As we stated last week following the news of Jason’s auto accident, our immediate concern was for both Jason and his passenger,” Bucs general manager Jason Licht said in a statement.

“While Jason was treated and released in South Florida the same day of the accident, we wanted to ensure that our medical team had an opportunity to perform a thorough evaluation here in Tampa, and that process is currently ongoing,” Licht added.

Pierre-Paul, who was not cited in the crash, had 12½ sacks last season to become the first Tampa Bay player to have 10 or more in a season since Simeon Rice in 2005.

It was also the most sacks the 10th-year pro has had in a season since suffering a serious hand injury in a July 4 fireworks accident in 2015.