A report on Tuesday indicated that Jason Pierre-Paul‘s hand is in worse shape than the Giants expected, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links) has some encouraging news on that front. The defensive end is in fact missing a piece from his thumb, but a source says that it’s far above the joint and just the tip of the digit. Pierre-Paul also has no more surgeries after last week’s skin graft and it’s all about healing at this stage.
Here’s more on JPP, along with a few more NFC notes:
- Pierre-Paul took to Instagram with a video of him training and vowed that he would soon join the Giants on the field, as Avery Stone of USA Today writes. “God can turn any situation around for the better,” the defensive end wrote. “Your hard times will lead to the best times of your life. Don’t believe the hype … Be back soon! #90PC #ImAFighter #PutMeInCoach.”
- Eli Manning‘s new contract with the Giants includes $5MM roster bonuses in both 2018 and 2019, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News tweets.
- When asked if he would bring in another kicker to compete with Blair Walsh, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said, “No. I’m bringing in consideration for him to pull out of this thing and start kicking like he’s capable of kicking,” according to Chris Miller of the Star Tribune. Walsh missed a 44-yard field goal on the team’s opening drive against the 49ers and went just 5-11 in preseason. Last year, he posted a league-worst 74.3% mark.
- The Cardinals are not interested in adding a veteran running back because they’re confident that Andre Ellington‘s injury is a short-term issue, Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets.
- Cardinals coach Bruce Arians has no hard feelings about being passed over for the Bears‘ head coaching job, John Mullin of CSNChicago.com writes. Arians was a finalist for the gig after Lovie Smith was fired in 2013. Ultimately, the team hired Marc Trestman, who has since been replaced.
- The Bears‘ release of linebacker Sam Acho over the weekend was one of example of how teams sometimes get around the 53-man roster limits, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.