When Jason Pierre-Paul reported to the Giants shortly before the regular season got underway, he and his camp expressed confidence that he’d be ready to play soon, perhaps even as early as Week 1. The Giants, of course, didn’t see it that way, and JPP returned home to work on getting his injured hand healthy enough to play before the end of 2015.
So when do the Giants expect Pierre-Paul to be ready? According to Bob Glauber of Newsday, the club is hopeful that the veteran defensive end will be back for the final four games of the season, or perhaps even longer. However, the Giants are optimistic about seeing JPP back on the field down the stretch, a source tells Glauber that it’s “still possible he doesn’t come back [this year].”
As we wait to see how Pierre-Paul’s recovery progresses, let’s round up a few more items from out of the NFC East…
- Lance Dunbar‘s season-ending injury will be a significant blow for the Cowboys‘ backfield, but Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets that the team isn’t planning on bringing in another free agent running back. Werder hints that Christine Michael, acquired last month via trade, could take on a bigger role in Dunbar’s absence.
- Former 49ers guard Joe Looney was among the players to work out for Washington this week, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post tweets that ex-Ravens wideout Daniel Brown and tight end D.J. Williams also tried out for the team. Washington let Williams go with an injury settlement about a month ago, so he wouldn’t be eligible to rejoin the team for at least a couple more weeks.
- While Chip Kelly won’t admit it, the Eagles head coach has to recognize that the lack of talent on his offensive line is killing his run schemes, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Having cut Evan Mathis in the offseason, Kelly insists that there’s no lesson to be learned there: “If we didn’t renegotiate [Mathis’ contract], we weren’t getting him back.” Still, it’s fair to be skeptical of that assertion, considering Mathis was under contract and likely wouldn’t have extended a holdout into the regular season like Kam Chancellor did.
Really helpful info on JPP there.