A sports hernia has sidelined New York Giants’ star Jason Pierre-Paul, perhaps for the whole season. His status for the post-season is still up in the air, and that’s assuming the Giants (8-4) hold on to a playoff spot.
Speaking of being up in the air, Pierre-Paul’s future with New York may be in question as well. Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News brought up the fact that the seventh-year defensive end is set to hit free agency this offseason, and with the injury, plus his fireworks snafu back in 2015, maybe the Giants decide to move on.
It’s worth noting, as Leonard brings up, that Pierre-Paul was playing well before his injury, meaning his stock could be high on the open market if the Giants allow him to test it. In 12 games played in 2016, he notched 53 tackles, seven sacks, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
JPP’s bargaining power is something that fellow Giants’ defensive lineman, Damon Harrison, spoke about with Leonard:
“I don’t want to get too much into that, man,” Harrison said of the possibility he has played his final snap with Pierre-Paul as a teammate. “I’ll let that take care of itself. But he has done a good job to put himself in position to be somewhere in being productive and getting the contract he deserves.”
Leonard brings up the fact that the Cardinals have shown interest in the past, and it’s unlikely that Arizona is the only franchise that could be interesting in taking a chance on the dynamic defensive end. And if it comes down to a bidding war, Olivier Vernon’s five-year, $85 million contract may tie up the Giants and keep them from getting into a bidding war for the 6-foot-5, 278-pound phenom.
Of course, the Giants could choose to give Pierre-Paul the franchise tag, but it all depends on the value the organization can see in him for one more one-year run, and whether or not the average of the NFL’s top five defensive end salaries this season is worth it.
Either way, JPP’s future in New York is foggy.