Jason Pierre-Paul 'feels good' after making NFL return

TAMPA, Fla - Jason Pierre-Paul is back playing on Sundays again.

What they're saying:

"I felt good," Pierre-Paul said. "That’s what I put in the work for. Grinding out there."

The Bucs outside linebacker says the constant grind of working out to get back in an NFL locker room does not compare to the actual thing.

"I haven’t hit anyone in two years," Pierre-Paul said. "When I went against the tackle it was like, ‘Oh, okay. This is real. We are back in it.’"

The NFL veteran made his return a little more than a week before his 37th birthday, playing a grand total of 12 snaps against Carolina. Head coach Todd Bowles wants to see more of JPP.

Big picture view:

"We tried to put him in some passing situations," Bowles said. "We put him inside some, and it really didn't turn out because they had a lot of third-and-short plays where they ran the ball, so the passing situations never really materialized. Going forward, we'll get him outside as he gets used to the scheme, and we'll get him some work done, and he'll help us in the pass rush."

Once he gets things down, Pierre-Paul believes he can make a big impact on the field.

"I’m excited because I haven’t played ball in two years, but I’m very excited," Pierre-Paul said. "I felt like I was in shape out there. Didn’t feel tired. It takes a minute to get in a groove with things for me."

Dig deeper:

JPP has only been back in the Bucs locker room for about two weeks. He is still learning the playbook, but there's one thing the two-time Super Bowl champion does know — how to win. He says Tampa Bay has what it takes to right its wrongs even though the team is on a three-game losing skid. 

"My job now is to get the young guys to rally, and it ain’t over," Pierre-Paul said. "It’s never over until you say it’s over. I don’t think it’s over. I think we have a lot of work to do in a short period of time. We are going to get after it."

And, it starts with taking it one game and one play at a time.

"We’ll see how the cards play out," Pierre-Paul said. "We’ve got two more games left. Let’s start with this one with the Miami Dolphins and go down there and see what we can do as a team."

What's next:

Pierre-Paul and the Bucs take their talents down to South Beach on Sunday to battle the Dolphins. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on FOX.