BALTIMORE — Ravens coach John Harbaugh said the team has agreed to terms with Jason Pierre-Paul pending a physical, and he expects the veteran edge rusher to reach game readiness quickly once he arrives.
“It’ll be hard to know until we see him; he worked out though, so we have a pretty good idea that he looks good,” Harbaugh said after practice Friday. “As soon as he’s ready, he wants to play. I know that. He’s not coming in here to take a lot of time to get ramped up. As soon as he looks like he’s ready to go, he’ll be out there.”
The Ravens did not release terms of Pierre-Paul’s deal, but several reports have said the one-year, incentive-laden agreement could be worth as much as $5.5 million.
Pierre-Paul, 33, missed five games last season because of a variety of injuries and finished with just 2 1/2 sacks and five quarterback hits. He started all 16 games and made the Pro Bowl the previous season, helping to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title.
He had surgery in February to repair a torn rotator cuff and opted to skip training camp as he waited for the right deal to come along. He first visited with the Ravens in June.
They will count on him to bolster a thin outside linebacker corps while they wait for Tyus Bowser and second-round draft pick David Ojabo to recover from torn Achilles. The Ravens have leaned heavily on Odafe Oweh and veteran Justin Houston, who combined for 107 defensive snaps last Sunday in a loss to the Miami Dolphins. Their options dwindled further when Steven Means tore his Achilles tendon on the only snap he played against the Dolphins.
Pierre-Paul, who has 91 1/2 sacks over 12 seasons, will bring a sterling resume to the mix.
“It’s exciting because he’s a football player; he loves football, he’s a competitive guy,” Harbaugh said. “I’ve always admired the way he goes about his business.”
