Jason Pierre-Paul: Sizing up the situation

The New York Giants have a serious and unique situation on their hands. New York’s front office was likely relaxing and enjoying some drinks and barbeque throughout the July 4th weekend when the news came down on Sunday that defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul had sustained an injury from fireworks.

While reports have not made exactly clear the devastation of the injuries, there have been multiple media outlets stating that Pierre-Paul has burns from the accident and potentially nerve damage. The injuries do not seem to be career-threatening, but it was a big enough problem that the team has rescinded its $60 million long-term contract offer, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

This has to be devastating to Pierre-Paul, who was angling for an even more lucrative contract. Currently, Pierre-Paul had been holding out of offseason activities after general manager Jerry Reese placed the franchise tag on him before the deadline in March. Now, Pierre-Paul has the option of either negotiating a much lower long-term contract before the July 15 deadline or accept the franchise tag and play for a guaranteed $14.8 million on a one-year deal. Pierre-Paul does have the right to sit out and not be paid through 10 weeks and then return, making him eligible to accrue another year toward full-blown free agency.

The problem for Pierre-Paul is whether or not he should be betting on himself. While the name is huge, Pierre-Paul has really been nothing more than a highly mediocre player with injury concerns during three of his five NFL season after being a first-round pick by New York in 2010.

Pierre-Paul racked up just 4.5 sacks as a rookie before becoming an overnight sensation with 16.5 sacks in 2011, helping the Giants to a victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. However, Pierre-Paul dealt with a litany of ailments over the next two years and only amassed 8.5 combined sacks, making many wonder if he was a one-hit wonder.

Last year, Pierre-Paul bounced back to total 12.5 sacks and become one of the more dominant defensive ends in the league. So the question at this point is simple: does Pierre-Paul wager that he’ll have another season like 2011 and 2014, or will it be closer to 2010, 2012 and 2013? If the former is true, Pierre-Paul could reel in a deal well in excess of $60 million. If it’s the latter, Pierre-Paul might be lucky to rake in half that.

Regardless, Pierre-Paul did himself no favors on July 4th. It’s a sad reality, but the NFL is a cold-hearted business. With his hand injured after some potentially poor judgement, Pierre-Paul is facing a tough moment both personally and professionally.

Here’s to hoping the young Florida native can recover from his injuries and prove any doubters wrong going forward.