Jason Pierre-Paul: no advantage of letting him go elsewhere
In regards to Jason Pierre-Paul here are the realities. First he amputated his right index finger rather than letting it heal slowly so he could play this season. Secondly once he gets used to playing with 9 fingers, he will still be a long and explosive athlete that can get to the quarterback. Finally the Giants should let him sign the franchise tag tender when he is ready and willing.
Related: Jason Pierre-Paul: The Case For Letting Him Go
The Giants defense needs Pierre-Paul. The team cannot lose their best defensive player and expect to recover from their horrific defense from a season ago. The Giants have good defensive end depth but Pierre-Paul is the only superstar. He had 12.5 sacks last season.
Ronnie Lott of San Francisco 49ers lure had 10 interceptions after amputating his finger. It isn’t an injury that you cannot comeback. It isn’t going to be an easy path back for Pierre-Paul but he is coming back to football. Why would we let him play for another team. The Eagles need a pass rusher, how would you like Eli Manning running from Pierre-Paul?
The Giants aren’t going to rescind the franchise tag and spend the money elsewhere. It just isn’t a realistic option. They cannot come up with anything but a short contract for Evan Mathis with that money. Other than Mathis, can you name me two players worth what Pierre-Paul can do?
Pierre-Paul did something incredibly stupid and only hurt himself. This is a mistake he can never get away from. We don’t need to punish him by taking the tag off the table. Pierre-Paul can still help the Giants win and he should be on the team. Yes fireworks are illegal for a reason, but this is a forgivable offense.
Pierre-Paul hasn’t helped himself with his handling of the situation, but would any of us do it differently? When you’re hurt in the hospital, and your career could be in jeopardy, do you really want to face your employer. Secondly it is just good business for him to sign the tender when he is healthy enough. That’s his right, and the Giants have to respect it.
While nobody really knows how Pierre-Paul will comeback from this, we do know that he is coming back and may miss little time this season. If Pierre-Paul doesn’t do so great this season, the Giants will let him hit the open market. Yes, the franchise tag is expensive. But is it a risk, when the money was already pegged for Pierre-Paul anyway?
If Pierre-Paul does hit the open market this offseason there will be a team that swoops him up quickly for a competitive contract. At the end of the day he is still an explosive 6-5 275 pound defensive end. If the Giants let him go, they could easily regret it for years to come.
Next: Jason Pierre-Paul, New York Giants In Uncharted Territory