Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Jason Pierre-Paul reportedly suffered a fractured neck in a car crash last week in Florida -- and the injury could potentially cost him the entire upcoming season. Pierre-Paul was involved in the single-car wreck Thursday in Broward County and was treated at a hospital, according to TMZ Sports. Pierre-Paul was not accused of any crime and was not speeding at the time of the crash, according to multiple reports. NFL STAR JJ WATT SHARES PHOTO OF 'NOT TOO HAPPY' PUPPIES AFTER THEY'D BEEN 'FIXED' The nine-year veteran may need surgery and will visit with other surgeons for more opinions on what he should do, ESPN reported. “As we stated last week following the news of Jason's auto accident, our immediate concern was for both Jason and his passenger,” Buccaneers GM 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.” Pierre-Paul recorded 12.5 sacks last season and played in all 16 games for the Buccaneers. It was his highest sack total since 2014 when he lined up for the New York Giants. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Giants traded Pierre-Paul to the Buccaneers last offseason for a couple of draft picks.<doc-sep>Jason Pierre-Paul's car crash was worse than initially thought -- the Tampa Bay Bucs star reportedly broke his neck in the accident and will likely miss the 2019 season. TMZ Sports broke the story ... JPP was the driver in a single-car crash in Florida early Thursday morning. He was transported to a local hospital but released a short time later. Now, ESPN's Adam Schefter says Pierre-Paul fractured his neck in the crash will likely require season-ending surgery. He's currently visiting neck specialists. As we previously reported, the 30-year-old was not accused of any wrongdoing and he was NOT speeding -- we're told it was merely an accident. Pierre-Paul is in the middle of a 4-year, $62-million deal with the Bucs, and as a key member of the defense. This isn't the first time JPP has had an off-field incident -- he infamously had a fireworks accident in 2015, and later returned to the field to perform at a high level.<doc-sep>TAMPA — A 911 call by Jason Pierre-Paul and a witness to his May 2 car crash indicates the Bucs defensive end lost control of his red Ferrari and hit a wall on Interstate 95 near the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Pierre-Paul can be heard telling a dispatcher for the Florida Highway Patrol that he is not injured but needs help removing his car. “Hey, I’m on the middle of the highway and I’m by the Fort Lauderdale airport, International Boulevard by the sign Davie Boulevard, and my car just did a 360 in the middle of the road and I’m headed south. I mean north,” Pierre-Paul, a native of nearby Deerfield Beach, said in the 911 call obtained by slaterscoops.com. Pierre-Paul was asked if his car struck anything. “Yeah, I hit the median, but I’m okay,” he said. “It’s right in the middle. It has to be moved or a cop has to come, or somebody is going to hit it.” An accident report released by the Florida Highway Patrol on Wednesday confirmed Pierre-Paul was traveling southbound on I-95 south of Broward Boulevard, around 2:38 a.m. on May 2, when he “lost control” of the car and "ran off the roadway to the left. As a result, the vehicle started to rotate and the right side collided with a concrete barrier,'' the report said. The Ferrari continued south and came to rest facing southeast, across two lanes of traffic. There were no skid marks or debris in the roadway when officers arrived, the report said. Pierre-Paul 30, and his passenger, James Thompson, were taken to Broward Health Medical Center around 3 a.m., the report says. The FHP report says Pierre-Paul’s condition was "apparently normal'' at the time of the crash. Although Pierre-Paul said during the 911 call that he was not injured, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that further evaluation by specialists hired by the Bucs revealed he has a fractured neck and might require surgery. If so, it could be a season-ending injury for the 10-year veteran out of USF who led the Bucs with 12½ sacks last season, the first time a Tampa Bay player had double-digit sacks since Simeon Rice in 2005. At the very least, Pierre-Paul is out indefinitely pending further evaluation. Road conditions might have contributed to the crash because it was raining. An unidentified female witness who called 911 to report the wreck said the Ferrari hit a wall while traveling southbound and there was debris on the road. “He hit a wall,” the witness said. “A Ferrari, it’s a sports car. It’s red. Because it’s raining.” When asked if the car was blocking the road, the witness said, “Yes, they’re in the middle of the road, and a car is going to hit it. Please hurry.” An initial report by the website TMZ said that Pierre-Paul was driving an SUV and that the crash occurred around 5 a.m. SLATER SCOOP: Jason Pierre-Paul's 911 call after crashing his Ferrari. Exclusive info on how other outlets have been reporting on wrong accident.https://t.co/aWVXH17YMN pic.twitter.com/b3BsffqSvA — Andy Slater (@AndySlater) May 8, 2019 Contact Rick Stroud at rstroud@tampabay.com. Follow @NFLStroud,<doc-sep>
Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul's injuries sustained in a single-vehicle crash last week may be worse than previously assumed. According to a report from ESPN.com's Adam Schefter, Pierre-Paul may need neck surgery that could end his 2019 season before it begins. Schefter's ESPN colleague Jenna Laine noted that she had been told last week that Pierre-Paul was "OK," which does not appear to be the case. In the immediate wake of the crash, Bucs general manager Jason Licht released the following statement: "We have been informed that Jason was involved in a one-car accident early this morning in South Florida in which he was not cited. We know that he was evaluated at a local hospital and has since been released. Our immediate concern is for the safety and well-being of Jason and his passenger. We have been in contact with Jason and will be getting him further evaluated by our medical staff in the near future." Licht released another statement on Tuesday afternoon: "As we stated last week following the news of Jason's auto accident, our immediate concern was for both Jason and his passenger. 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." Obviously, if the neck injury is this serious, there are more important things than whether or not Pierre-Paul can play this season. The first concern should be for his near and long-term health and safety. Hopefully any necessary operation is a success and he can live a long and healthy life. As for the Bucs, they will surely miss Pierre-Paul on the field if he cannot play. He led the team with 12.5 sacks last season and figured to be their best pass rusher in 2019 as well. Without him, they will have to count on players like Noah Spence and Carl Nassib, as well as some of their more recent draft picks, to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks. It is unknown how Pierre-Paul's status will affect the future of interior lineman Gerald McCoy, who was been speculated about as a possible cap casualty throughout the offseason. SportsLine's Stephen Oh simulated the impact of Pierre-Paul's season-long absence, which dropped Tampa's chance of making the playoffs by 2.1 percentage points and shifted their over/under 6.5 wins bet to a solid Under.