Pierre-Paul To Have Right Finger Amputated  

9:46pm: In addition to his amputation/skin graft, JPP had surgery to repair a broken right thumb, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report. Echoing earlier reports, Cole also hears that JPP had the finger amputated in order to facilitate a quicker return to football.

“He was told that he could repair the finger, but it was probably going to take multiple procedures and even after all of that the finger was probably going to be disfigured and not very functional, if at all,” a source said. “Look, it’s not easy to say, ‘OK, cut it off.’ But for what he’s trying to do, play football, it makes sense.”

Two doctors also told Cole that losing the finger won’t keep him from playing effectively. However, one doctor said that extensive damage to the thumb would be even more problematic. Pierre-Paul might be able to begin exercising with the hand in as little as two weeks, although three or four may be more likely, Cole hears.

7:24pm: The current belief is that Pierre-Paul won’t require any further amputations, Garafolo tweets.

6:48pm: Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (on Twitter) hears that there were a few options discussed to attempt to save JPP’s finger. However, amputation was deemed to have the fewest complications. A lawsuit is indeed possible for the leaking of the medical records, Mike Florio of PFT tweets.

The Giants were unaware of the amputation until reading Schefter’s report, according to Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger. As of this writing, JPP is still in surgery.

6:45pm: Jason Pierre-Paul had his right finger amputated today, according to documents obtained by ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Still, JPP is expected to play this season and a medical source tells Schefter that he’ll be back on the field “sooner than people think.”

The thinking behind JPP’s decision is that cutting off his finger simplifies and accelerates his recovery, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Now, the defensive end could be back in fewer than two months. The situation is reminiscent of famed NFL safety Ronnie Lott, who had his finger amputated in order to prevent missing time in action. Rapoport (link) believes says that JPP was refusing to see people, including Giants officials, because he was having critical surgeries done on his hand.

Pierre-Paul had a strong 2014 campaign with 12.5 sacks and three forced fumbles and was the league’s seventh-best 4-3 defensive end according to Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required). Since the end of the season, JPP has been entangled in a contract dispute with the Giants. The Giants slapped the defensive end with a one-year, $14.813MM franchise tender to keep him, but Pierre-Paul has been fighting for a lucrative long-term deal. Big Blue came to the table with a reported ~$60MM offer, but Pierre-Paul turned it down.

In addition to turning away Giants staff members who tried to visit him in the hospital the past few days, the injured defensive end also refused the team’s offer to set him up with hand specialists in Manhattan, sources told Garafolo. Today’s new information might shed some light on JPP’s decision.