Last night, we tried to make sense of the Jason Pierre-Paul situation. And if our effort to make sense of the situation makes sense, it could make sense for JPP to take action against the Giants, within the confines of the labor deal.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media hints that an independent doctor could make the call on when Pierre-Paul is ready to play.
That would happen only after Pierre-Paul files a grievance against the team for failing to agree that he’s ready to play. And that possibility underscores the point from last night: The player’s doctor thinks he’s ready, the team’s doctors think Pierre-Paul isn’t.
The team’s doctors quite possibly are influenced by the fact that clearing Pierre-Paul to play means that the team employing the doctors will be paying JPP more than $870,000 per week. If Pierre-Paul files a grievance (it would actually be a “non-injury grievance” under the Collective Bargaining Agreement) and wins, the Giants would be forced to take him back.
Mechanically, the process likely would start with Pierre-Paul signing his $14.8 million franchise tender. Otherwise, the Giants could yank the tender immediately after the independent doctor says the player is ready to go.
That still could be Pierre-Paul’s primary objective. And if the Giants aren’t willing to pay him $870,000 per week in his current condition, doesn’t it make sense for the Giants to rescind the tender and let him find someone else who will at least pay him something remotely close to that?
