Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul’s hand injury isn’t the only thing keeping him off the field. He has also lost significant muscle mass because of his inability to work out since his Fourth of July fireworks accident.
According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, Pierre-Paul “lost a ton of weight because he obviously hasn’t been able to work out.” That’s not a big surprise: Lifting weights is a big part of an NFL defensive lineman’s offseason program, and it’s hard to lift weights if you don’t have a functioning hand.
It’s been well established that Pierre-Paul lost an index finger in the accident, but Glazer says he actually has severe injuries to three fingers and his treatment is ongoing: Pierre-Paul had a skin graft within the last week.
Pierre-Paul offered to sign his franchise tender and start playing for the Giants with a cast on his hand today, but the team’s response after seeing his hand was, “absolutely not.” Instead, the Giants told Pierre-Paul that they’d re-evaluate his hand in six weeks.
Each week that he misses will cost Pierre-Paul $870,000, which means that after Week Six, he’ll have lost more than $5.2 million. And given the severity of his health problems, it’s entirely possible that Pierre-Paul will miss the entire season, and miss out on what would have been a $14.8 million salary this year.