New York Giants News & Rumors

9:46pm: In addition to his amputation/skin graft, JPP had surgery to repair a broken right thumb, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report. Echoing earlier reports, Cole also hears that JPP had the finger amputated in order to facilitate a quicker return to football.

“He was told that he could repair the finger, but it was probably going to take multiple procedures and even after all of that the finger was probably going to be disfigured and not very functional, if at all,” a source said. “Look, it’s not easy to say, ‘OK, cut it off.’ But for what he’s trying to do, play football, it makes sense.”

Two doctors also told Cole that losing the finger won’t keep him from playing effectively. However, one doctor said that extensive damage to the thumb would be even more problematic. Pierre-Paul might be able to begin exercising with the hand in as little as two weeks, although three or four may be more likely, Cole hears.

7:24pm: The current belief is that Pierre-Paul won’t require any further amputations, Garafolo tweets.

6:48pm: Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (on Twitter) hears that there were a few options discussed to attempt to save JPP’s finger. However, amputation was deemed to have the fewest complications. A lawsuit is indeed possible for the leaking of the medical records, Mike Florio of PFT tweets.

The Giants were unaware of the amputation until reading Schefter’s report, according to Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger. As of this writing, JPP is still in surgery.

6:45pm: Jason Pierre-Paul had his right finger amputated today, according to documents obtained by ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Still, JPP is expected to play this season and a medical source tells Schefter that he’ll be back on the field “sooner than people think.”

The thinking behind JPP’s decision is that cutting off his finger simplifies and accelerates his recovery, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Now, the defensive end could be back in fewer than two months. The situation is reminiscent of famed NFL safety Ronnie Lott, who had his finger amputated in order to prevent missing time in action. Rapoport (link) believes says that JPP was refusing to see people, including Giants officials, because he was having critical surgeries done on his hand.

Pierre-Paul had a strong 2014 campaign with 12.5 sacks and three forced fumbles and was the league’s seventh-best 4-3 defensive end according to Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required). Since the end of the season, JPP has been entangled in a contract dispute with the Giants. The Giants slapped the defensive end with a one-year, $14.813MM franchise tender to keep him, but Pierre-Paul has been fighting for a lucrative long-term deal. Big Blue came to the table with a reported ~$60MM offer, but Pierre-Paul turned it down.

In addition to turning away Giants staff members who tried to visit him in the hospital the past few days, the injured defensive end also refused the team’s offer to set him up with hand specialists in Manhattan, sources told Garafolo. Today’s new information might shed some light on JPP’s decision.

Four days after he sustained a hand injury in a fireworks accident, Jason Pierre-Paul‘s status remains something of a mystery, with no formal announcements from his camp or the Giants on his condition or his potential recovery timetable. Here are Wednesday’s latest updates on the veteran pass rusher:

• Multiple league sources tell Mike Florio of PFT that Pierre-Paul specifically declined to see trainer Ronnie Barnes and former Giants linebacker Jessie Armstead, who now works as a special assistant for the Giants. As one source explained it, they traveled to Miami without first contacting JPP or otherwise determining that he would see them. Armstead is known to have a strong relationship with Pierre-Paul and JPP’s refusal to see him could be an indication of how he feels about the organization at present.
• Giants officials who went to South Florida earlier this week to visit Pierre-Paul have now left without ever getting a chance to visit the injured defender, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links). While JPP received the franchise tag from the Giants, he never signed it, meaning he’s not technically under contract with the club. Per Schefter, while team officials showed up in Florida, they were “not welcomed there.”
• Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap points out (via Twitter) that since the Giants could decide to pull their franchise tag, JPP’s camp probably doesn’t want the club to see the 26-year-old until they’re more certain about his recovery.
• Giants running back Rashad Jennings tells Howie Kussoy of the New York Post that “nobody’s mad at all” at JPP for the accident, and that he and his teammates are “just hoping everything works out.”
• While JPP’s Giants teammates may not be upset about his hand injury, Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report hears that the Giants coaching staff is “absolutely apoplectic.” According to Freeman, there had already been some concerns about signing Pierre-Paul to a long-term deal with a significant amount of guaranteed money, and those concerns have only multiplied now.

4;42pm: Don’t expect Pierre-Paul to sign his franchise tag until he’s ready to play, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) cautions. The Giants can’t place him on the Non-Football Injury list until he inks a deal. Rapoport adds (link) that the two sides haven’t ruled out JPP playing in Week 1. Of course, no one will know his timetable until more is known about his hand.

Meanwhile, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes that Giants officials have been in South Florida since Monday night but still have not been able to visit JPP. As for right now, they’re waiting patiently, hoping he’s alright.

3:48pm: The Coral Springs PD is no longer investigating Pierre-Paul, having determined the incident didn’t happen within their jurisdiction, reports J.P. Pelzman of The Record (all Twitter links). That doesn’t mean another police department won’t look into the incident, however. Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets that once police determine where the incident occurred, they might proceed with an investigation.

2:56pm: According to Raanan, the Coral Springs Police Department in Florida has launched an investigation into the accident that injured Pierre-Paul’s hand. Depending on the the information they gather, JPP could face charges that include criminal possession of fireworks, writes Raanan, citing Coral Springs public information officer Capt. Brad McKeon.

10:30am: A handful of reports on Jason Pierre-Paul‘s condition and his contract situation surfaced on Monday, with some of those reports providing conflicting information. The severity of JPP’s hand injury, sustained over the weekend in a fireworks accident, remains unclear, and the team may or may not have withdrawn a $60MM contract offer in the wake of the incident.

Based on Monday’s reports, it seems likely that Pierre-Paul will ultimately play on a one-year deal in 2015, with a stint of the non-football injury list a possibility. It also appears unlikely that his hand will be 100% healthy anytime soon.

With that in mind, here are Tuesday’s latest updates on the star defensive end:

• The Giants sent their vice president of medical services, Ronnie Barnes, to Miami to check in on Pierre-Paul at Jackson Memorial Hospital, but he hasn’t been able to get much information about the 26-year-old’s condition, writes Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. According to Vacchiano, the Giants have been stuck getting most of their updates from JPP’s agent, which is the main reason why the team has yet to issue a statement or make any definitive decisions. In response to a report indicating the defensive end could miss some of the regular season, one team source told Vacchiano, “Until we know what we’re dealing with, nobody knows if he’ll miss anything.”
• One team source told Vacchiano that yesterday’s report on the Giants pulling a $60MM to JPP off the table was “not accurate,” suggesting that there may not have been a concrete offer to rescind. A deal in the $60MM range may have been discussed, but some in the NFL believe Pierre-Paul was seeking more than that.
• Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post, who first refuted the report of the rescinded contract offer, hears that there’s still a multiyear offer on the table, but that Pierre-Paul is unlikely to accept it. If that’s true, I can’t imagine that offer represents a fair market value for an injured JPP, let alone a healthy one.
• Giants officials are in Miami today to visit Pierre-Paul and hope to have a better idea of how he’s faring by the end of the day, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Jordan Raanan of NJ.com adds (via Twitter) that the Giants’ contingent include key figures in the organization, not including owner John Mara.
• If Pierre-Paul signs his franchise tender and is placed on the non-football injury list for the start of the regular season, he’d have to sit out at least six weeks. As such, JPP’s best move may be to not sign his tender until he’s healthy, since that would allow him to be activated immediately, says Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Of course, that decision will depend heavily on the 26-year-old’s recovery timetable.
• In a piece for NJ.com, Raanan explains how the NFI list works, and how its features would apply to JPP.

6:05pm: It’s a virtual guarantee that the Giants will put JPP on the non-football injury list to open training camp, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets. The Giants are currently checking in on the details of the process.

5:10pm: There’s concern that Pierre-Paul could miss training camp and the start of regular season, a team source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). For now, the Giants are still awaiting more medical information.

4:48pm: Reports indicating that the Giants have rescinded their offer to Jason Pierre-Paul are “100% false,” a source very much in the know tells Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post (on Twitter). Earlier today, it was reported that the Giants withdrew their long-term contract offer to the star defensive end, a proposal that was said to be worth $60MM.

According to that same report from earlier, JPP was not planning on accepting the $60MM offer before next Wednesday’s deadline. Still, if he has a change of heart, it sounds like the proposal will still be there.

Earlier today, Luke Adams of PFR examined a few possibilities for how the situation between Pierre-Paul and the Giants could play out, noting that any scenario involving JPP becoming an unrestricted free agent seems unlikely. If the veteran pass rusher signs his one-year franchise tender, the club could ultimately elect to place him on the non-football injury list until he’s recovered. In that event, New York wouldn’t necessarily have to pay JPP his full salary.

Pierre-Paul had a strong 2014 campaign with 12.5 sacks and three forced fumbles and was the league’s seventh-best 4-3 defensive end according to Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required). However, he wasn’t all that consistent throughout the year as nine of those sacks came in the season’s last five games.

In a May poll, 58% of PFR readers said that Pierre-Paul would not ink a long-term pact prior to July 15th. Earlier today, a team spokesman told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network that the club’s first concern is for JPP’s well-being.

1:46pm: Despite withdrawing their long-term contract offer, the Giants aren’t currently considering rescinding the franchise tag from JPP, a source tells Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. Vacchiano acknowledges that stance could change within the next few days as more details of Pierre-Paul’s injury become known, but I’d be surprised if the team withdrew that tag, since it would allow the defensive end to sign anywhere.

Vacchiano also hears from a Giants source that there’s “no chance” the two sides will get a long-term deal done by the July 15 deadline.

1:00pm: According to Kimberly Jones of NFL.com (via Twitter), about $30MM of the Giants’ offer would’ve been guaranteed. It’s not clear if that entire amount would’ve been fully guaranteed, or if a chunk of it would’ve been guaranteed for injury only.

12:28pm: In the wake of the hand injury suffered by Jason Pierre-Paul over the weekend, the Giants have withdrawn their long-term contract offer to the star defensive end, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, citing three sources informed of the situation. According to Rapoport, the proposal was worth $60MM.

Rapoport doesn’t specify how many years the Giants’ offer was for, but five years and $60MM sounds about right to me — I doubt the team would’ve gone as high as $60MM over four years with the deadline still weeks away. Six years is a possibility, but considering the franchise tag would’ve paid JPP nearly $15MM for one year, $10MM annually seems a little low. Of course, regardless of how many years the proposal was for, it’s possible it didn’t feature much guaranteed money or a player-friendly structure.

In any case, that $60MM offer is no longer on the table, according to Rapoport, who says that the Giants don’t believe a long-term offer is “in the best interest of those involved at this point,” given the timing of the incident and the apparent judgment displayed. Per Rapoport, the 26-year-old hadn’t been planning to accept the team’s offer prior to next Wednesday’s deadline anyway, so it appears likely that he’ll end up signing the club’s one-year, $14.813MM offer, unless it’s withdrawn as well.

Earlier today, I examined a few possibilities for how the situation between Pierre-Paul and the Giants could play out, noting that any scenario involving JPP becoming an unrestricted free agent seems unlikely. If the veteran pass rusher signs his one-year franchise tender, the club could ultimately elect to place him on the non-football injury list until he’s recovered. In that event, New York wouldn’t necessarily have to pay JPP his full salary.

The Giants are still looking into Pierre-Paul’s hand injury to determine the specifics and the possible short- and long-term effects. If the injury is determined to not be as serious as initially feared, it could change New York’s stance on a contract offer by July 15. One team spokesman tells Rapoport that the club’s first concern is for JPP’s well-being.

Pierre-Paul is one of four franchised players whose contract situations we’ll be watching over the next nine days. Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant, Broncos wideout Demaryius Thomas, and Chiefs pass rusher Justin Houston also remain unsigned.