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Are Jason Pierre-Paul’s days with New York Giants numbered?

By Ryan Disdier

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Last week New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul injured his hand in a fireworks accident. Following the accident, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted a picture of Pierre-Paul’s medical chart showing that Pierre-Paul had his right index finger amputated.

Pierre-Paul also suffered a fractured thumb and is expected to miss six weeks, according to ESPN’s Ed Werder. Essentially, Pierre-Paul likely won’t get on the practice field until late August, and that’s best-case scenario.

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With nine fingers, a fractured thumb and a loss of trust, just how much longer can fans expect JPP to be with the Giants?

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Well, for starters, Pierre-Paul is now expected to wait to until he’s healthy to sign his $14.8 million franchise tender. The Giants also have the opportunity to rescind their offer.

Will that happen? No, it’s not all that likely. But even if JPP plays 2015 in New York, I would not be surprised to see the team let him walk.

Pierre-Paul’s former teammate David Diehl recently shared his thoughts on the 26-year-old pass rusher.

“Denying the New York Giants access because you’re technically not under contract, it’s almost a slap in the face to the New York Giants, because of everything they’ve done for you up to this point,” Diehl said, on a recent appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

“If I ran the Giants, I wouldn’t want JPP around after this debacle … In fact, I would not have wanted him around after the past three seasons” – NFL.com’s Adam Schein

Diehl, who retired after the 2013 season, went on to question Pierre-Paul’s professionalism.

“This isn’t his [Pierre-Paul’s] rookie year,” Diehl said. “If they feel, and they need somebody to watch you during the offseason going into your sixth year, because of immaturity, yeah that’s throwing up red flags for everyone all around.”

The claims made my Diehl have substance, as JPP has never been categorized as being a mature, savvy vet.

I also don’t think he’s the best or most valuable player on the Giants defensive line, let alone the defense. Johnathan Hankins played far better than JPP last year, and I believe “Big Hank” is a more important part of that defense.

If the Giants were to let Pierre-Paul go in the near future, they would likely be fine.

If we’re basing JPP’s 2014 solely based on stats, then it was a great year, as he finished with 12.5 sacks, after only amassing two in 2013.

However, Pierre-Paul was far from dominant all year. Going into week 13, JPP only had 3.5 sacks. He recorded nine sacks in the latter portion of the season, taking advantage of teams with poor offensive lines such as Jacksonville, Tennessee, Washington and St. Louis.

He’s still a good pass rusher, but he’s nowhere near the player he was in 2011. If you recall, Pierre-Paul was a man among boys, bullying his way to the quarterback for 16.5 sacks.

NFL.com’s Adam Schein recently wrote an article regarding Pierre-Paul’s stance with the team.

“If I ran the Giants, I wouldn’t want JPP around after this debacle,” Schein writes. “In fact, I would not have wanted him around after the past three seasons … Since his transcendent 16.5-sack 2011 season, Pierre-Paul has been a model of inconsistency and injury. Honestly, it seems like he hasn’t made an impactful play in the last three seasons.”

Schein isn’t wrong, as it’s tough to remember a recent instance in which Pierre-Paul shifted the momentum of a game like he did in 2011.

Pierre-Paul’s been incredibly mediocre, and there’s no real reason to believe he can ever return to his second-year form.

His most memorable play since 2011 was probably his pick-six in a 2013 game against the Green Bay Packers. A Scott Tolzien-led Green Bay Packers team, I might add.

Add in the fact that he’ll likely still want more than he’s worth (even despite his offseason woes), and New York cutting ties with Pierre-Paul doesn’t seem completely unfeasible.

A big factor in whether Pierre-Paul returns or not will be the play of an unsung trio: The aforementioned Hankins, rookie Owa Odighizuwa and Damontre “Feed Me” Moore.

If those players, along with guys like Kerry Wynn and Jay Bromley, can prove to be a legitimate rotation, then the decision to let JPP walk should become more and more clear.

Every run Hankins stuffs and every sack Moore gets will make Pierre-Paul more and more expendable.

I think a lot will have to happen for the Giants to retain Pierre-Paul after 2015. First, he needs to prove to the coaches that he can be relied on and that he’s capable of being a leader in the locker room.

Tom Coughlin isn’t a head coach who tolerates that type of behavior, and even if Coughlin isn’t back next year, the Giants organization is not one that typically likes to deal with players with off-field issues.

Secondly, JPP will have to have an exceptionally good year, and not just on the stat sheet. Nine sacks in the final five games won’t be enough. Pierre-Paul will have to be consistently dominant for the first time since the Giants went to the Super Bowl.

Love him or hate him, it’s completely realistic to think the Giants are prepared to move on from Jason Pierre-Paul, barring a super-human effort in 2015.

At this point, he’s just not exactly worth the top-tier money he’s likely seeking.

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