Jason Pierre-Paul is apparently still holding on to some hard feelings over his departure from New York.
The former Giants standout has reestablished himself as a force as a pass-rusher for the 5-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are coming to town for a Monday Night Football matchup against Big Blue in Week 8.
But Pierre-Paul doesn't anticipate a warm reunion.
While he "still has love" for the team that selected him 15th overall in 2010, JPP told reporters on a Friday conference call, he still wants to prove to the Giants that they made a mistake by sending him packing three years ago.
"I'm coming for their necks, they know that," he said. "Jason Pierre-Paul ain't going nowhere, I'm going to Monday Night Football and I'm going to destroy the Giants. That's what I want to do as an individual. But I still have love for them."
Pierre-Paul recorded 12.5 sacks for Tampa Bay a year ago, and enters action in Week 8 on pace for about the same output in 2020, owning 5.5 sacks through the Bucs' first seven games.
The March 2018 trade of JPP to the Bucs -- in exchange for a third-round draft pick and a swapping of fourth-rounders -- marked one of the Giants' first major moves under GM Dave Gettleman.
Those picks were spent on defensive end BJ Hill and quarterback Kyle Lauletta, who is no longer with the team. Hill has been serviceable as a defensive reserve and special teams contributor, but he doesn't look like an impact player, and his snap percentages are trending down for a second consecutive season.
JPP's tenure in Tampa hasn't been all smooth, however.
He was limited to 10 games last season after a May 2019 car crash left him with a fractured neck. It was another unfortunate setback after he famously lost parts of his hand in a fireworks accident in July 2015.
It took the former All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowler the better part of two seasons -- in the prime of his career, no less -- before he started looking stronger and more comfortable playing with a protective guard on his damaged right hand.
He played in all 16 games in his final season with the Giants in 2017, the first time he'd done so since 2014 -- the final year before his injury.
But by then the Giants and Pierre-Paul were far removed from their Super Bowl title, and with that came changes.
Pierre-Paul also faced the Giants in his first season in Tampa Bay, recording 1.5 sacks of Eli Manning in a Big Blue win at MetLife Stadium.
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