Jason Pierre-Paul doesn’t sign Giants’ franchise tag

By staff
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Updated: September 8, 2015

MIKE STONE/REUTERS

Jason Pierre-Paul returns to NYC to let Giants check out extent of his injuries following July 4 fireworks accident, but it doesn’t appear if he is healthy enough to make his return at this time.

Jason Pierre-Paul’s wondrous return to the Giants won’t happen anytime soon.

On Tuesday, the defensive end did not sign his $ 14.8 million franchise tag tender, according to sources. Indications are that Pierre-Paul will not do that anytime soon, and the Giants will have to open the season – and perhaps play for awhile – without their most talented defensive player.

According to the NFL Network, Pierre-Paul may still be a month away from a return and according to media reports, he is headed back to Florida.

He remains a player without a contract, and he will continue to train by himself and work to round back into playing shape. By all accounts, the hang-up between Pierre-Paul and the Giants remains his health; it was just two months ago that Pierre-Paul severely injured both hands and had his right index finger removed following a Fourth of July fireworks accident.

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And when the Giants’ team doctors finally got to examine his right hand on Monday at the Hospital for Special Surgery, they did not believe he was healthy enough to play, according to a source.

It was the likely outcome all along, although not the one Pierre-Paul might have wanted. Pierre-Paul spent most of the last two months offering the Giants few details on his health before making the decision late last week to finally reconnect with the club. After famously shutting the club out of his hospital room in Florida immediately after his accident, he was in New York Monday, meeting with team doctors and then visiting with Giants front office people in East Rutherford in the afternoon.

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But the Giants never seemed interested in paying Pierre-Paul unless he was 100%. Coach Tom Coughlin even alluded to that Monday, before he’d even seen his prodigal defensive end.

“We need a healthy Jason Pierre-Paul, certainly,” Coughlin said. “He’s a guy that would add to our team, provided he’s healthy and can play at the level he’s played at.”

The Giants apparently decided that Pierre-Paul was not ready to do that, so, with limited options, the two sides have temporarily parted ways. Had Pierre-Paul arrived in East Rutherford two weeks ago, the Giants could have signed him to his franchise tag tender and placed him on the non-football injury list. For six weeks, he wouldn’t have been on the active roster and the Giants wouldn’t have needed to pay his salary, but he would have been able to e with the club as he recovered from his injuries.

But that ceased to be an option on Saturday, when teams settled on their 53-man roster and NFI rules changed. If the Giants place Pierre-Paul on NFI now, he would have to sit out the entire season without pay, erasing any opportunity to prove to the Giants – and other NFL clubs – that he can still be a pass-rushing force.

When – or if – Pierre-Paul does return to the Giants, he could still have the option of signing his franchise tag, as long as he passes the club’s physical examination. He would no longer earn the full $ 14.8 million, though; he will only earn a prorated portion of his salary based on the number of games he manages to play.

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