Jason Pierre-Paul joked early Thursday about how his index finger had nothing to do with his ability to sack quarterbacks, but later in the day frightening images of his hand — which was severely injured in a Fourth of July fireworks mishap — indicated that a return to sacking probably won’t be coming any time soon.
The New York Daily News published images of Pierre-Paul, who has kept the injury under wraps, and one photo shows his right hand missing the index finger, with a middle finger still wrapped and a thumb that appears to be missing its tip.
The Daily News did not reveal where or when the photos were taken, but they seem to show a player who is not yet ready to play football. He is wearing a T-shirt that reads, “What we do in life echoes in eternity” and shows a football player holding the hand of a young child. The shirt was a co-production of Muze and the NFL Players Association five year ago, with proceeds from the sale going to fund research and awareness of brain injuries.
Pierre-Paul had a pithy, joke-y tweet about whether he could return to his Pro Bowl status on Thursday, the day after video of his workout was subjected to intense analysis. He reminded everyone just how important fingers are to a defensive lineman and added the levity of a winky smiley-face emoticon.
Pierre-Paul, 26, has racked up 42 sacks in his five-year career, so he probably does have a good idea of how to compensate; when he will get the chance to show what he still can do is another matter. The Giants aren’t expecting him back for another five or six weeks, and he has until Nov. 17 to sign with the team. If he does not, his season will be over, and he’ll become a 2016 free agent.
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