The New York Giants need Jason Pierre-Paul’s pass rushing presence but not enough that they are ready to put him on the field days after another surgery on his damaged hand. Suddenly, the thought is real that Pierre-Paul really might not play this season.
After weeks of saying he would be ready for the start of the year following a 4 July fireworks accident that took his index finger and part of his thumb, Pierre-Paul is apparently in no condition to play the team reportedly said this week. The Giants latest worry comes from a surgical procedure to remove the tip of the defensive end’s middle finger. ESPN quoted a source on Wednesday as saying the wound from a 4 September procedure on the middle finger was still fresh when he visited Giants doctors three days later.
Several reports say the team will not even re-examine Pierre-Paul for at least another month. ESPN says the Giants may then decide to pull back the $14.81m franchise offer they made to him as a free agent this past offseason.
To prove he is ready for football, Pierre-Paul released a video of him working out this week. The video offers tiny glimpses of his hand but it is hard to make out how much of his thumb is gone. Reports have varied wildly on the extent of his thumb damage – from a tiny tip to half of the finger.
While Pierre-Paul looks to be in shape in his video it is impossible to know if he is in football shape. Is he still explosive? Can he push past linemen and reach the quarterback? Can he tackle with his hand injury? The same questions of early July still exist in mid-September.
Last year he had 12.5 sacks and was most effective late in the year with nine sacks and 21 tackles in New York’s final five games. The Giants did not have a sack in their season-opening loss at Dallas. They can definitely use more pressure on quarterbacks but not enough to believe Pierre-Paul can provide it.
For now Pierre-Paul is left trying to convince the Giants he can play soon. So far he hasn’t been able to. He can’t sign his tender offer because the team can put him on the non-football injury list and not pay him.
