TAMPA, Fla. ā Nine years and a pair of career-threatening injuries later, Jason Pierre-Paul is back in the Super Bowl and ready to wreak havoc.
The relentless pass rusher helped the 2011 New York Giants beat Tom Brady in the NFL title game.
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This time, heās trying to help the six-time champion win a record seventh ring in the 43-year-old quarterbackās first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Pierre-Paul, traded from the Giants to the Bucs three years ago, is one of just six players on Tampa Bayās roster with previous experience on footballās biggest stage, where the Bucs will face the Kansas City Chiefs.
He wants his young teammates to embrace the moment and understand that regardless of how talented they are, the road back to another Super Bowl will not be easy.
āTake everything in. Tomorrow is not promised. Super Bowl is not promised for next year,ā Pierre-Paul said.
āIt took me nine years to get back to this point. Every year I played well. I played great. I put up numbers. I do exactly what I need to do to be a great player, be elite,ā the 32-year-old linebacker added. āBut thatās not going to get you to the Super Bowl.ā
Pierre-Paulās journey has been more difficult than most.
In addition to the usual bumps, bruises and assortment of football injuries that come with playing 11 seasons in the NFL, the defensive stalwart also overcame a pair of scary offseason accidents that could have ended his career.
Pierre-Paul lost an index finger in a July 4 fireworks mishap that also damaged the thumb and middle finger on his right hand in 2015 while he was still playing for the Giants.
He suffered a fractured neck in an automobile crash that sidelined him for the first six games of the 2019 season with Tampa Bay. He not only returned to play the final 10 games, but finished with 8Ā½ sacks as the Bucs laid the foundation for an improved defense thatās helped Brady reach his record 10th Super Bowl.
Pierre-Paul was asked this week about his resilience.
āI been through a lot and the things I go through, I just stick with happy thoughts. My father was blind at age of 30, 31 and me being born and he having to look after me when my mom was working. He never quit. To this day heās still happy and joyful, and happy I am in another Super Bowl,ā Pierre-Paul said.
āTo those people who are facing something ā six years ago I went through a hand injury, fireworks injury. Last year I had a broken neck,ā he added.
āPeople say you canāt do it because they canāt do it. But you put your mind to it, you can do whatever you want to do in life. Itās easier said than done, but I never quit on anything in life. I am going to give everything I can until you canāt, knowing you canāt.ā
Pierre-Paul had 58 sacks in eight seasons with the Giants. Heās added 30Ā½ in three years with the Bucs, including 9Ā½ this season when he led the team and was the only Tampa Bay player selected for the NFC Pro Bowl team.
āItās amazing. Jason is a medical, genetic freak, the way he can bounce back from severe injury with what he did after his hand injury. But that car wreck, I I was just happy he was going to be able to walk. Football was the furthest thing from my mind,ā coach Bruce Arians said.
āHe told me: āIāll be back.' Low and behold his first play back he gets a sack,ā Arians added. āHe is a rolling ball of energy every single day. Heās the best guy at playing injured and being tough that I know.ā
Pierre-Paul had two of Tampa Bayās five sacks of Aaron Rodgers in the Bucsā 31-26 victory over Green Bay in the NFC championship game.
He generated more headlines on Super Bowl media day when he said, āI didnāt even know who that was,ā about Mike Remmers, who has moved to left tackle on Kansas Cityās reshuffled line since the Chiefs lost Eric Fisher to an injury in the AFC championship game.
Pierre-Paul said heās not thinking about whoās going to be across from him, blocking his path to Patrick Mahomes.
āIām going to do what I need to do. ... Thatās a you problem. They gotta figure that out,ā the linebacker said. āIām coming to play a football game.ā
For the record, Remmers said he doesnāt care about Pierre-Paulās opinion, or lack thereof.
āEvery week Iāve played in this league, Iāve never gone into a game thinking, āHey, I wonder what this guy thinks of me?ā I donāt care at all. It makes no difference to me,ā said Remmers, a ninth-year veteran who has been with eight different organizations and will start his 10th career playoff game, including a second Super Bowl. āIām just going out there to do my job.ā
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