7:32pm: While initial reports did not specify the severity of the injuries, only that they were serious, Pierre-Paul’s hand injury is not considered to be career-threatening. Chris Mortensen of ESPN writes that it may not be game- or season-threatening either, which should give Giants’ fans a little relief (via Twitter).
Paul Schwartz of the New York Post gave the most specific details to the injury, writing that flesh from JPP’s palm and fingertips had been burned off, but his fingers remain completely intact.
This clears up some of the more imaginative thoughts about Pierre-Paul, but does not give much clarity to whether or not the Giants would consider pulling the franchise tag or if this injury would provoke Pierre-Paul and his agent to sign it quickly to avoid an uncertain free agent market should the injury be more serious that a burn on his hand.
3:51 PM: Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul reportedly seriously injured his hand in a fireworks accident in South Florida last night, according to Andy Slater of 940AM-WINZ (via Twitter).
Slater tips his cap to Marc Eisenberg, who was the first to report the injury, before confirming which player it was (via Twitter). It was his initial tweet that described the unnamed player’s hand as “seriously damaged” (via Twitter). The Giants have not confirmed the injury officially yet, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (via Twitter), but Jason Cole of Bleacher Report does confirm that Pierre-Paul suffered some sort of injury (via Twitter).
The Giants placed the franchise tag on Pierre-Paul earlier this offseason, but the player has not signed the tag yet so no contract has been officially agreed to, writes Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com (via Twitter). He notes that is this rumor is true it would be extremely bad for him and his value.
Fitzgerald clears up the unusual procedure of the injured player who hadn’t signed his franchise tag. He writes that a team can pull that tender at any time, which would result in Pierre-Paul immediately becoming an unrestricted free agent (via Twitter). He notes that even if he had signed, the Giants would have had recourse due to the non-football injury aspect anyway (via Twitter). The team could have voided the contract or asked for better terms.
I always thought he was an explosive player but this takes it another level.