On Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed three-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Jason Pierre-Paul to the team’s practice squad. It has been almost two years since he last played an NFL game.

Pierre-Paul, 36, adds to a veteran pass-rushing group that includes Haason Reddick and Yaya Diaby. He was part of the 2020-21 champion Tampa Bay team, recording 9½ sacks that season, including a two-sack performance on Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship in January 2021.

Pierre-Paul has recorded 94.5 career sacks over a 14-season career. He most recently played a few games for the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins in 2023 before being waived.

“Obviously, I’ve been wanting to play football since the beginning of the year,” Pierre-Paul said via the AP. “(When the) opportunity comes, you’re there, so that’s basically what happened. There was an opportunity given, and I made the best of it.”

Pierre-Paul was selected by the New York Giants 15th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft out of the University of South Florida. He spent eight seasons with the Giants and recorded a career-high 16.5 sacks on the 2011 Super Bowl–winning team. He spent four seasons in Tampa Bay and one in Baltimore before splitting time with the Saints and Dolphins in 2023.

The former Giant had a severe fireworks accident on July 4, 2015, leading to the amputation of his right index finger and significant injury to his thumb and hand. He has since continued his career effectively, though.

The Buccaneers currently rank 14th in the league in sacks with 33 on the season.

Larry Foote, the Bucs’ run-game coordinator and outside linebackers coach, sees Pierre-Paul as a relatable voice entering the 7-6 Buccaneers locker room — an energizer of sorts for a team currently tied with Carolina for first place in the division. Tampa Bay has won the NFC South the past four seasons.

“(He’s) a guy that can bring some of the intangibles that we cannot bring as coaches that I think he can help,” Foote told the AP. “That’s the way I’m looking at it. His energy and his juice. … We’ll see what he can do the next couple of weeks. This is a short week, see if he (has) something in the tank. We worked him out and he looked good; I worked him out personally and he can still move and bend and he (has) that God-given freaky ability, and we’ll see what he can do next week.”

Tampa Bay hosts the Atlanta Falcons (4-9) on Thursday night.