REPORT: JPP MISSING MORE THAN 1 FINGER
GIANTS CO-OWNER John Mara wondered aloud in July about how many fingers Jason Pierre-Paul still had. And according to ESPN, Pierre-Paul may have less than nine.
On Saturday, ESPN reported that Giants officials saw even more damage to Pierre-Paul’s right hand than the well-chronicled amputation of his right index finger. According to ESPN, Pierre-Paul, who severely injured his right hand in a Fourth of July fireworks accident, also was missing “a portion of one of the other fingers” on his right hand.
In addition to a fractured thumb and skin grafts, those injuries have some in the organization worried that Pierre-Paul will not be able to play this year, according to ESPN.
Pierre-Paul visited the Giants last Monday, took a physical with the team, and, after being deemed not ready to take the field, returned to Florida, where he continues to train in an effort to come back to the club. Not that the Giants have ever truly been banking on Pierre-Paul’s return. The defensive end’s camp spent months pushing the narrative that he’d make a swifter-than-expected return to action, insisting immediately after the accident that he could return for the season opener. Even after Pierre-Paul was captured by the Daily News in exclusive photos weeks after the accident hardly looking ready for action — his right arm in a sling and a thick bandage over his right hand — his camp continued to leak positive updates to the media.
But the Giants have tread cautiously this whole time, never indicating that they were relying on their embattled defensive end’s return. For all the public ballyhoo around Pierre-Paul’s much-anticipated visit to East Rutherford last week, the Giants never spoke as if he were expected back.
“No disrespect to JPP, but I don’t know if a lot of guys put a lot of eggs in that basket,” cornerback Prince Amukamara said Monday. “I don’t know if a lot of guys were expecting him to come back and were making room for him in our game plan.” “Still a lot of uncertainty,” Eli Manning added. “We’ve got to focus on just getting ready for the Cowboys and go out and do our job and when he (Pierre-Paul) can come back and join us that’ll be great.”
Despite the latest reports, the Giants remain open to a Pierre-Paul return — if he can get healthy. The club has yet to pull its $14.8 million franchise tag offer to Pierre-Paul, in large part because there’s no need to do so. Because he has not yet signed, Pierre-Paul is not being paid.
And when he does sign, if the Giants are not satisfied with his health, they can easily place him on the non-football injury list. Such a move would end his season, although the Giants would not need to pay him.