Jul 082015
 
Jason Pierre-Paul, New York Giants (November 9, 2014)

Jason Pierre-Paul – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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ESPN obtained and released a medical record for Jason Pierre-Paul indicating that the New York Giants defensive end had his right index finger amputated on Wednesday at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. Pierre-Paul suffered serious injuries to his right hand in a July 4th fireworks accident at his South Florida home on Saturday.

In addition to the amputation, the medical document shows that Pierre-Paul also did receive skin grafts, including to his right arm. NFL.com also tweeted that Pierre-Paul had pins inserted into some undisclosed bones.

NJ.com and The New York Daily News are reporting that the Giants were unaware of the amputation until seeing the ESPN report. As we reported earlier, Pierre-Paul refused to see the Giants officials who were sent to check on Pierre-Paul’s medical status. The New York Post is also reporting that Pierre-Paul refused the team’s offer to set him up with hand specialists in Manhattan.

An unidentified “medical source” told ESPN that Pierre-Paul is expected to return to the playing field this season “sooner than people think.”

NFL.com is reporting that it was Pierre-Paul’s decision to amputate the finger as cutting off the finger simplifies and accelerates the recovery process. NFL.com is reporting that Pierre-Paul could be back in fewer than two months. FOXSports says that other options besides amputation were discussed, but amputation was deemed to have the fewest complications. NJ.com is reporting that Pierre-Paul still may return by the regular-season opener and that the damage to the other fingers is considered minor. According to FOXSports, there will be no other amputations for Pierre-Paul. It appears that Pierre-Paul chose to sacrifice his right index finger in order to ensure that he will play football in 2015.

A free agent, Pierre-Paul received a 1-year, $14.813 million Franchise tender in March from the Giants that he has yet to sign. The Giants reportedly are no longer seeking to sign Pierre-Paul to a long-term deal before the July 15 NFL deadline for Franchise players to sign multi-year contracts. So unless the Giants rescind the tender, Pierre-Paul will be forced to sign the 1-year deal if he want to play and get paid in 2015. However, Pierre-Paul can control his absence from the team and the team’s access to him by not signing the tender. If Pierre-Paul signs his tender and misses practice and playing time, the Giants can place him on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) List and not pay him.

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Eric Kennedy

Eric Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of BigBlueInteractive.com, a publication of Big Blue Interactive, LLC. Follow @BigBlueInteract on Twitter.

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