Photo Credit: Jim O’Connor/ USA TODAY Sports
One of the most bizarre stories this NFL offseason involves Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and fireworks. It was first reported that Pierre-Paul suffered a hand injury after lighting fireworks on July 4th. Reports ranged from saying he lost multiple fingers and his career was in jeopardy to the injury just being a flesh wound.
With no word from the defensive end’s camp, no one was ever really sure of the extent of the injury. Giants trainer Ronnie Barnes traveled to Miami, where Pierre-Paul resides in the offseason, but he was turned away from meeting with him; making this situation that much stranger.
Finally, some answers were revealed today when ESPN’s football reporter Adam Schefter tweeted a photo of what he claimed were Jason Pierre-Paul’s medical records. The records included a right index finger amputation for Pierre-Paul. It is unclear how/who leaked the records, but it is likely he will file a lawsuit for privacy law violations. More information came forward as the day went on including that Pierre-Paul was still in surgery today which could be the reason why he did not meet with Giants’ personnel.
The team officials only found about the extent of the injures when the rest of us did! The team was unsure of how bad the injury was until Schefter tweeted the picture. He is expected to make a full recovery and not miss much time not he field. However, he received the Giants’ franchise tag and the team offered him a long-term deal that they have since taken off the table and now may have lost some of his leverage with the team. He already needed to have a big year for the team after being held back by injuries since his explosive rookie year.
