Former New York Giants 2010 first-round selection and 2011 Super Bowl champion pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul has yet to sign in 2023 after 14 appearances and 3.0 sacks with the Baltimore Ravens a season ago. According to “JPP” himself though, retirement is not in his plans.
“Even now, I’m a free agent,” the former All-Pro and two-time NFL champ told “The Pivot Podcast” during an exclusive interview on October 10 after discussing his injuries and accomplishments throughout his career.
Later, Pierre-Paul confirmed that he believes he can still play in this league. The motivation to return for season number 14? “I’m trying to reach 100 sacks,” the defensive playmaker stated candidly. “That’s a goal I want, and I haven’t been given the opportunity.”
JPP currently sits at 94.5 career sacks, just 5.5 away from one last achievement. Clearly, he’d like to return this year at age 34 and make a run at that triple-digit total.
Ex-Giants Player Jason Pierre-Paul Believes He Can Help NFL Team as Teacher & Pass Rusher
If you look at Pierre-Paul’s career, the theme has been never quitting or giving up. Despite a neck fracture from a car crash and the loss of two fingers in an infamous firework incident, the three-time Pro Bowler only missed 31 regular season games out of a potential 210 over 13 NFL campaigns.
That mentality is a way of life for the pro football star.
“I’m still doing things [outside of football],” Pierre-Paul noted during the interview. “I’m renovating houses, I got businesses going on, and that keeps my mind off things. You know my mom told me — ‘hey son, you need to chill. Like, you always doing something’— but that’s been me my whole life. … It’s in me. This is something that I didn’t learn, it’s just in me.”
He’s not likely to give that up anytime soon, and the NFL vet still feels like he has something to offer too.
“The transition for me is easy,” JPP explained. “So, when I do get the call, or when I got the call, it’s like — okay, football wants me, they want my talent to show these [younger] individuals how to do it. I’m going to be honest, I don’t watch film like that, but I can tell you, I’ve been in this game long enough to know; guys ain’t tackling how they used to tackle, guys ain’t running how they used to run, everything is changing. So, what the vets know, you just gotta teach it to these kids [and] hopefully they understand it and grasp it.”
Pierre-Paul added that he thought he’d have the opportunity to get to 100 sacks with the Ravens in 2022, but things didn’t go according to plan.
“Business is business,” he stated on the Baltimore experience. “You want the young guys to go out there, just make sure they know how to stop the run. Don’t send me out there to [only] play first and second down. I’ll do it, but [when] third down come through … it’s going to take me [a few plays] to get warmed up for nobody to stop me.”
Although he never came out and said it, JPP hinted that he wasn’t happy with his playing time and usage with the Ravens, which seemed to focus on run defense rather than pass rushing.
“I’ve been through too much for a person to tell me what I can’t do,” he concluded. “So, I’m reaching for that 100 sacks. [And] hopefully, one day I am a Hall of Famer.”
Giants Fans Urge Franchise to Reunite With Jason Pierre-Paul to Help Round Out ‘Great Story’
New York Daily News beat reporter Pat Leonard posted a clip from this interview on X on October 11 and a few Big Blue fans appeared to like the idea off Pierre-Paul finishing off this 100-sack dream right back where he started.
“What a great story it would be if the Giants brought him back for one last run as a veteran leader for the edge kids,” one supporter voiced. “And this season doesn’t have any other great stories thus far.”
Another agreed: “Giants should do the right thing and sign him, even if it’s a short-term deal.”
Another NYG fan wrote: “Leadership, winner, fighter. Yeah, I’d love a JPP/Giants reunion… Should never have traded him. JPP should’ve been a Giant for life.”
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Former Giants All-Pro Interested in NFL Return: ‘I’m a Free Agent’