The Giants will put Pierre-Paul through a physical, and should he pass, the question then becomes when can he play in a regular-season game? The Giants have Cullen Jenkins and Robert Ayers, two players who can get it done, but not with almost the impact Pierre-Paul brings.
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Pierre-Paul suffered the injury in a July 4 fireworks mishap. With his career looking finished, Pierre-Paul rallied for 12.5 sacks previous year, putting him in good position to be paid. With no real knowledge on his status, Coughlin wouldn’t rule out Pierre-Paul for Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys. NJ.com’s story, citing a source, said Pierre-Paul is in condition to play, though his hand is still healing.
There is no doubt the Giants will miss a talent like Pierre-Paul for the beginning of the season, but truthfully people don’t know what to expect from him.
“I think you just plan and prepare as if he won’t be out there”, Manning said. Ayers is more likely to be the pressure pass rusher the Giants need Sunday night.
Before he signs his contract, however, there will be some negotiations between the two sides to arrive on a financial solution for a player who might miss some games because of his non-football injury.
After a slow start in 2014, Pierre-Paul came on strong with nine sacks in the final five games of the season. He later met with Giants coach Tom Coughlin, owner John Mara and general manager Jerry Reese in person for the first time since the injury to begin talks about reworking his $14.8 million franchise tag tender.
The next step – and the biggest hurdle of the off-field process – is getting Pierre-Paul’s representatives and the Giants to agree on altered terms of his yet-to-be-signed contract following an incident that cost him his right index finger and fractured his right thumb. “Probably will wait until he gets fully ready”. The defense needs that this season and they will be much better off with Pierre-Paul than without him.
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The Giants are happy to have Jason Pierre-Paul back.
