JPPeace out! Star DE traded to Tampa
JASON PIERRE-PAUL woke up Thursday morning as a prominent lynchpin of the Giants’ core. By lunchtime he was a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. New Giants GM Dave Gettleman shook an already dramatic NFL offseason in New York with a blockbuster trade to reshape his franchise, sending the man fondly known in NYC as “JPP” and the Giants’ 2018 fourth-round pick (102nd overall) to Tampa in exchange for Bucs GM Jason Licht’s third- (69th overall) and fourthround picks (108th overall).
Gettleman now owns six total picks in April’s draft, including the No. 2 choice and four of the draft’s top 69 selections, with two picks at the top of the third (second and fifth).
“We appreciate everything Jason has done for the Giants,” Gettleman said in a team statement. “He was a fine player for us, and he helped our franchise win Super Bowl XLVI. We wish him well in the future.” “Today is a bitter sweet day,” Pierre-Paul posted on his @iamjasonpierrepul Instagram account. “I have been blessed to be part of a world class organization and fans for the last 8 years. As I look back at my career with the NY Giants, I am filled with gratitude and appreciation for each and every moment I had with NYG. As of now I’m starting a new chapter in my life as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, I will always value the time I had here in NY CITY Thank you for the great 8 years! 90PC.”
The trade saves the Giants only $2.5 million against their 2018 salary cap, since the remaining $15 million on Pierre-Paul’s original $20 million signing bonus from last offseason’s extension immediately
accelerates to impact this year’s cap. But it does clear JPP’s scheduled $19.5 million 2019 cap hit and $17.5 million 2020 hit off the books.
The Giants also saved up to $12.5 million in cash in 2018 by trading JPP (his $11.25 million salary, $250K offseason workout bonus, and up to $1 million in per-game roster bonuses).
The Giants, therefore, have chosen defensive end Olivier Vernon ($17 million cap hit in 2018) over Pierre-Paul as a fit in new defensive coordinator James Bettcher’s 3-4 scheme. The trade opens the door to Gettleman possibly drafting N.C. State end Bradley Chubb with the second overall pick or trading back a few spots and getting him.
And it clears money off the books as for potential contract extensions for star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and safety Landon Collins, who each are entering the final years of their rookie deals (Beckham his fifth as a former firstround pick; Collins his fourth as a second-rounder).
The trade also reinforces the Giants’ stunning draft futility for most of ex-GM Jerry Reese’s tenure.
With Pierre-Paul gone, none of Reese’s 45 draft picks from 2008-13 remain on the Giants’ roster. Only three of the 59 drafted from 200815 remain: Beckham, Collins and no-longer-left tackle Ereck Flowers. And just four of 67 from 2007-15 are still around, including 2007 fourthrounder Zak DeOssie, the club’s veteran long-snapper. Only Eli Manning, special teams linebacker Mark Herzlich and DeOssie now remain from the Giants’ Super Bowl XLVI roster from 2011. This shouldn’t be news to anyone. This is a major reason Reese was fired in December.
Pierre-Paul, Reese’s 15th overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft out of South Florida, is best known on the field for earning a first-team All-Pro nod in 2011 as the Giants went on to win Super Bowl XLVI. JPP had a career-high 16.5 sacks, the fourthhighest total in team history, joining Hall of Famers Lawrence Taylor (20.5, 1986 MVP) and Michael Strahan (an NFL record 22.5 in 2001 and 18.5 in 2003) as the only Giants with at least 16 sacks in one season.
Pierre-Paul played in 111 of a possible 128 regular season games in eight seasons, but the defensive end infamously blew off part of his right hand in a Fourth of July fireworks accident in 2015. And the accident compromised Pierre Paul’s chance at a major contract extension that offseason coming off 12.5 sacks in 2014 and put him and the team at odds.