JPP wants his Giant pay day
JASON PIERRE-PAUL believes he did enough on the field this season to command a long-term contract. Now the defensive end will discover if the Giants feel the same way.
JPP made it clear Monday he will not accept another one-year contract from Big Blue. He also said he wouldn’t be content with a franchise tag.
Pierre-Paul signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Giants last spring. He’s a year and a half removed from the infamous fireworks accident that forced him to miss nearly all of 2015. “I’ve proved it. I’ve showed it,” Pierre- Paul said. “There’s not really a guy like me out here doing it with 7.5 fingers.”
Pierre-Paul overcame his gruesome hand injury to put together an impressive first 11 games of 2016. But his season was cut short by a sports hernia injury in the Week 13 loss at the Steelers.
He had surgery three days later and missed the rest of the season, including Sunday’s playoff defeat in Green Bay.
Pierre-Paul, 28, said he would have returned to the field this weekend in Dallas if the Giants advanced. “I definitely would have been out there this week,” he said. “No ifs or buts about it.”
JPP finished with seven sacks, three forced fumbles and a fumble-recovery touchdown in his abbreviated season. The former first-round pick totaled 5.5 sacks in the two games leading up to his injury in Pittsburgh.
Pierre-Paul said he “would love to return” to the Giants But financial security is the priority.
Both coach Ben McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese want Pierre-Paul back next season. “JPP is a heck of player. He makes a lot of things easier on defense,” McAdoo said.
“Of course we want him back,” Reese added. “He is a good football player.”
Pierre-Paul has no interest in taking a hometown discount. “I know what I bring to the table,” Pierre-Paul said. “You’ve got to know your worth, and I know my worth.”