NFL Star Jason Pierre-Paul Suffers Injury In July 4 Fireworks Accident
New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul appears to have suffered a severe hand injury while setting off fireworks during a Fourth of July celebration. Sports Illustrated is reporting that Pierre-Paul had a van full of fireworks on Saturday and got a bit careless and injured himself. Pierre-Paul had to be taken to a Florida hospital to care for his injuries.
Pierre Paul’s mishap may wind up costing his spot on the Giants roster. Pro Football Talk reports that Pierre-Paul, who the Giants placed the franchise tag on, has yet to sign his new $14.8 million contract. The two sides were working on a long-term contract and had until July 15 to reach an agreement or go with the one year franchise tag. If Jason is going to miss a significant amount of time, the Giants might need to move on and find another pass rusher. New York can rescind the franchise offer at any time which would make Pierre-Paul an unrestricted free agent.
The veteran defensive end has been with the Giants for all five years of his NFL career. He had a comeback year in 2014 with 12.5 sacks, while starting all 16 games. A two time Pro Bowl selection, Pierre-Paul is the key to the Giants pass rush. Jason has 42 sacks in his career and 205 tackles.
Several fellow NFL players offered up their well wishes via twitter on Sunday.
Please keep my brother and #NYG leader, Jason Pierre-Paul in your prayers…. #Family #NYG #Giants pic.twitter.com/cKpkWTxHWC
— Steve Weatherford (@Weatherford5) July 5, 2015
The Giants are coming off a 2014 season in which they failed to make the playoffs with a record of 6-10. The Giants added several players through free agency, including former New England Patriot running back Shane Vereen, former Patriots linebacker Jonathan Casillas, and linebacker J.T. Thomas from the Jacksonville Jaguars. New York has been busy trying to improve on a defense that was the third worst in the NFL against the rush in 2014, while trying to maintain their success in rushing the passer.
The next few days will be very interesting for both the Giants and Jason Pierre-Paul. Although Jason’s injuries are being reported by Pro Football Talk as not career-threatening, Pierre-Paul’s career could certainly take an interesting turn because of this incident. The Giants may just be angry enough to let Pierre-Paul go elsewhere. They may decide that a man with millions on the line should be a bit smarter about his choice of celebration methods. Maybe next time Jason Pierre-Paul should stick with just a sparkler or two.
[Image by Al Bello/Getty Images]
