Jason Pierre-Paul - Pro Football Rumors

Giants Activate Jason Pierre-Paul; Jon Beason to IR

November 7th, 2015 at 3:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

3:28pm: The Giants lifted Pierre-Paul’s roster exemption, and the defensive end will play Sunday, Rapoport tweets.

Jon Beason will head to injured reserve as the corresponding transaction, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).

Beason’s played in five games for the Giants this season, starting four at middle linebacker, but the oft-injured linebacker will once again head to IR. Beason, 30, played in just four games for Big Blue in 2014. He took a paycut to stay with the Giants this season.

The former Miami Hurricanes stalwart’s played in five or fewer games in four of the past five seasons after playing in all 16 in his first four seasons with the Panthers.

The latest spate of injuries, with knee and ankle maladies finishing his season this time, could mark the end of Beason’s career, Jordan Raanan of NJ.com reports.

1:52pm: Jason Pierre-Paul is traveling with the Giants for their Week 9 clash with the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay, ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson reports (on Twitter).

From the impression of teammates, it looks like Big Blue plans on deploying him immediately, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) and Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.

The Giants have until 3 p.m. Central Time to activate their former All-Pro pass-rusher to their 53-man roster and officially conclude his turbulent offseason.

New York is the only team in the league still in single digits in sacks with nine. They trail the second-worst Falcons’ pass rush by three and sit 20 behind the first-place Broncos.

The sixth-year edge presence looks to be set for passing-down work against the Bucs, per Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter), who would be very surprised if the Giants don’t activate him today.

He’ll indeed be on a snap count, according to Hubbuch, but the ex-first-rounder who registered 12.5 sacks last season and has lofty incentives for reaching double digits this year will obviously help the Giants’ anemic rush, even in a limited role.

“He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do, and we’re very positive about it,” Tom Coughlin told media. “He obviously has played many, many years in all circumstances, so I don’t think necessarily that’s true [that Pierre-Paul would be in a specialized role].”

NFC Notes: Kaepernick, JPP, Hardy

November 6th, 2015 at 7:08pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

For the first time since 2012, the 49ers will have someone other than Colin Kaepernick under center this Sunday when they face the Falcons. After the Kaepernick-led 49ers stumbled to a 2-6 start, head coach Jim Tomsula elected to make a change at quarterback and turn to backup Blaine Gabbert. Tomsula said that sitting will enable Kaepernick to take a breath and refocus.

“I’m not out of breath, so I don’t understand that reference,” Kaepernick said Friday, according to the Mercury News’ Cam Inman.

In response to offensive coordinator Geep Chryst‘s assessment that Kaepernick has been more focused on avoiding mistakes than making plays this season, the 28-year-old stated, “I don’t believe that’s accurate. Every time I step on the field, I step on the field to make plays. That’s just a matter of opinion.”

While Kaepernick may not agree with Tomsula or Chryst, he added that he’s respectful of the coaches’ authority (Twitter link via ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez) and won’t be a distraction to either Gabbert or the rest of the 49ers.

“I’ll support my teammates and support Blaine in everything they do, because they’ve been good to me,” Kaepernick stated.

NFC Notes: JPP, Bradford, 49ers, Megatron

November 4th, 2015 at 1:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Jason Pierre-Paul is practicing for the Giants, and while the team had initially been eyeing a Week 10 showdown with the undefeated Patriots as a target date for JPP’s return to the field, it sounds like he could play in Week 9 against the Buccaneers (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News).

As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (via Twitter), Pierre-Paul’s one-year deal with the Giants was set up to be based on seven weeks’ worth of playing-time incentives and per-game roster bonuses. However, if JPP makes his season debut this weekend, he would have eight weeks to try to earn those bonuses and incentives.

As we wait to see if Pierre-Paul is activated for the Giants’ next game, let’s round up some more odds and ends from across the NFC….

If the Eagles offered Sam Bradford a four-year contract extension at some point, it sounds like that’s news to him, as the veteran quarterback told reporters today (Twitter link via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer). “That offer must have gotten lost in the mail,” Bradford said.
Colin Kaepernick likely hasn’t started his last game for the 49ers, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), who says that the team hopes to get the quarterback back on the field in the second half, believing he has too much talent to simply give up on him. While the Niners may feel that way today, continued ineffectiveness from Kaepernick down the stretch could result in him being traded or even released in the offseason.
Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, writing for The Sporting News, sounds more skeptical that Kaepernick will see much playing time during the remainder of the 2015 season, and suggests the 49ers will likely find a way to move on from their quarterback in the offseason.
Asked if he asked the Lions to consider moving him prior to the trade deadline, wide receiver Calvin Johnson replied that he hasn’t thought about anything like that, according to Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. “No, I haven’t got to a point where I’ve said that,” Johnson said. “I’m just always trying to play ball. I love my teammates, so that hasn’t crossed my mind.”
Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane is on track to return to practice next Monday after spending the season’s first nine weeks on the physically unable to perform list, writes Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk. Lane’s return to practice would begin a three-week clock for the Seahawks to either move him to the active roster or shut him down for the year.

NFC Rumors: Johnson, JPP, Gurley, Curry

November 1st, 2015 at 11:31am CST by Sam Robinson

One of the biggest surprises in the league this season may extend for a potential encore. The Cardinals are discussing an extension for Chris Johnson, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports. Although no deal is imminent, both sides discussed the issue this week. Johnson’s playing on a one-year contract he signed in August. Signed to an $870K deal with no guarantees, the 30-year-old Johnson ranks second in the league with 567 rushing yards.

Let’s take a look at what else is transpiring around the NFC before Week 8’s early tilts kick off.

Jason Pierre-Paul has a chance to play next week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Giants are reportedly open to it. They rank 31st in the NFL with nine sacks thus far. Pierre-Paul can earn $50K for each half-sack he records in an incentive-laden contract and will receive $8.7MM if he can reach 10 in the Giants’ remaining nine games. The sixth-year veteran’s only recorded double-digit sacks in two seasons.
The 49ers have discussed Alex Boone, Joe Staley and Vernon Davis (Twitter link) with teams, but CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora hears (Twitter link) that Staley is considered the most available. The 31-year-old Staley’s in the middle of a six-year, $44.65MM contract and has cap numbers of $8.3MM and $11.2MM the next two seasons. Staley’s deal runs through 2019.
Eagles fourth-year defensive end Vinny Curry‘s surfaced in trade discussions, Schefter reports (as relayed by Andrew Kulp of CSNPhilly.com). A 6-foot-3, 279-pound tweener in a 3-4 scheme, Curry could have value as a 4-3 end. He’s in the final year of his rookie deal and likely to depart the Eagles after the season, Kulp writes. The CSNPhilly reporter notes the best the Eagles could get for Curry, who has never started a game but recorded nine sacks off the bench last season, is a mid-round pick.
Rams GM Les Snead‘s paranoia over whether one of the team’s NFC West rivals would take Todd Gurley invited him to act quickly during the draft, Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times reports. Snead was concerned about the 49ers or Cardinals drafting the potential NFC rookie of the year, so the team’s interest in the Georgia star remained a mystery. “I definitely was excited when they took me at No. 10. I was kind of shocked. They really kept it quiet,” Gurley told Farmer. “I know when they do those visits to do background checks back home, one of my high school coaches was like, ‘Yeah, the Rams came by,’ and I’m like, ‘They’re not going to take me.'”
NFL executives peg Robert Griffin III‘s trade value as minimal, considering his fifth-year $16.2MM option that is guaranteed against injury, and are more inclined to let Washington release the beleaguered signal-caller, Liz Clarke and Mark Maske of the Washington Post report.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wonders if Lions GM Martin Mayhew will be the latest post-London staff casualty, using Matt Millen‘s 2008 ouster as a reference point of Detroit bucking the usual trend of firing GMs after the season.

NFC Notes: 49ers, JPP, Lions, Bears

October 31st, 2015 at 5:58pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

A quick look around the NFC…

If the 49ers – losers of five of their first seven games – continue their downward spiral through the rest of the season, first-year head coach Jim Tomsula and his staff (notably offensive coordinator Geep Chryst and defensive coordinator Eric Mangini) could end up as the fall guys, per Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. While general manager Trent Baalke and quarterback Colin Kaepernick may also be under fire, Maiocco believes both have built up credit within the organization via past accomplishments. Thus, they have better odds than the coaches of remaining with the Niners in 2016.
Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, finally back with the team after a July 4 fireworks accident that cost him his right index finger, is confident his injury won’t affect his on-field performance. “There’s not going to be a major adjustment. As far as my hand goes, I’ll get used to it. I’m just fortunate to play football again,” Pierre-Paul said, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “The day I walked in here I already won. People said I was going to be out for the whole season,” the 26-year-old added. Pierre-Paul won’t play in the Giants-Saints game Sunday and it’s unclear at the moment when he’ll make his season debut.
New Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter had past run-ins with the law in Knoxville – a DUI in 2006 and an aggravated burglary charge in 2009 – but the records of his arrests mysteriously vanished, according to Robert Allen of the Detroit Free Press. “There’s no record. There’s nothing,” said Knoxville police spokesman Darrell DeBusk.
The Bears worked out free agent punter Zoltan Mesko on Friday, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Chicago brought in the left-footed Mesko in an effort to prepare for Vikings lefty Jeff Locke – whom the Bears will face Sunday.

NFC East Notes: Randle, JPP, Giants

October 29th, 2015 at 9:14pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the NFC East..

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said that running back Joseph Randle has been excused from the team today to deal with a personal issue, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets. However, did not say whether it was related to his demotion from a starting role or possible discipline from the league. Even though Randle was at the team’s facility this morning, Garrett said he did not meet with the running back.
Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul looked good in practice on Thursday, but defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo isn’t going to rush things, as Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Post writes. “It’s going to take a little while, it’s really early now,” Spagnuolo said. “We want to be optimistic, and I know he (Pierre-Paul) is too, but I think we want to be smart about it. We’ll just see where it goes.”
Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter) can see the Giants making a trade between now and the deadline, depending on where they are in a few weeks. The Giants are currently 4-3 heading into Sunday’s contest against the Saints.

Contract Details For Jason Pierre-Paul

October 29th, 2015 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

After a lengthy saga that involved a franchise tag, a fireworks accident, and a series of physical exams, Jason Pierre-Paul officially signed a contract this week with the Giants, aiming to return to the team for the second half of the 2015 season.

Pierre-Paul’s franchise tag was initially worth $14.13MM, but after missing seven weeks, the standout defensive end would’ve only been eligible to earn up to about $8.71MM, the prorated portion of that season-long figure. With the Giants reluctant to guarantee that full amount, and Pierre-Paul not wanting to risk being placed on the non-football injury list, the two sides worked out a compromise.

Here are all the details on JPP’s new one-year contract with the Giants:

Perhaps most importantly, the Giants agreed not to place Pierre-Paul on the NFI list as part of their agreement, meaning the veteran pass rusher will once again be eligible for free agency at season’s end (Twitter links via Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com). If the Giants had placed JPP on NFI, they may have been able to bring him back at the same price as his 2015 franchise tag.
Pierre-Paul receives $1.5MM in guaranteed base salary, and can earn up to $1.5MM in per-game roster bonuses, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports. The Giants have a roster exemption for JPP for the next two weeks, which means he’d only have to play in the club’s final seven games to max out his per-game bonuses — he’ll earn about $214K for each game he spends on the active roster.
According to Garafolo, Pierre-Paul can earn up to another $5.71MM or so, via playing-time and sack incentives. Rand Getlin of the NFL Network confirms (via Twitter) that the one-year deal is worth a maximum of $8,713,530 — the prorated franchise tag figure for 10 weeks.
La Canfora provides the specifics on those incentives, which are fairly convoluted. Essentially, if Pierre-Paul plays in at least 80% of the team’s defensive snaps over the final seven games, he’d earn a max of $3.85MM in playing-time incentives (Twitter link). If he records 10 or more sacks, JPP would max out both his sack and playing-time incentives, and earn his full $8.71MM salary (Twitter links). Of course, racking up 10 sacks in seven games is a tall order for even a fully healthy star, so the 26-year-old’s earnings for the season will very likely fall below that $8.71MM figure.

NFC East Notes: Randle, Cousins, JPP

October 29th, 2015 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

According to reports from Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, Cowboys running back Joseph Randle – upset with his demotion – left the team’s facility on Wednesday, skipping a treatment session for a strained oblique. It sounds as if Randle will return to the team on Thursday, and Hill’s sources downplay the notion that the running back left the team because he was upset about being surpassed on the depth chart by Darren McFadden.

Still, Randle’s decision to go AWOL frustrated some members of the Cowboys staff, and isn’t a great look for a player who has had his share of off-field issues in the past — as Hill notes, Randle has been arrested twice since last October, and “drew the ire” of the Cowboys when he made comments in the offseason about DeMarco Murray leaving “meat on the bone” last season.

We’ll have to wait and see if there’s any fallout to Randle’s absence, but if the Cowboys’ public support of Greg Hardy is any indication, it might just be a matter of time until Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones are issuing votes of confidence for Randle.

Here’s more from out of the NFC East:

It seems as if there has been more discussion and speculation about Robert Griffin III‘s contract situation beyond 2015 than Kirk Cousins‘ situation, but Washington‘s current starting quarterback is eligible for free agency this winter. Rich Tandler of RealRedskins.com examines the possible scenarios for Cousins, suggesting that he thinks a short-term deal with Washington is the most likely outcome.
The Giants will have a roster exemption for Jason Pierre-Paul until November 9, meaning the team won’t have to officially move the recovering defensive end to its 53-man roster until then, tweets Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
Newsday’s Bob Glauber takes a look at Pierre-Paul’s return to the Giants, writing that it’s worth rooting for JPP to make good on his second chance.

Giants Re-Sign Jason Pierre-Paul

October 28th, 2015 at 1:54pm CST by Zachary Links

WEDNESDAY, 1:54pm: According to Rapoport (via Twitter), Pierre-Paul can earn up to about $8.7MM on his one-year contract, which is the prorated portion of his franchise tag. However, the guarantee is lower than that, and the deal includes plenty of incentives.

TUESDAY, 6:46pm: The Giants officially announced the signing of JPP.

6:22pm: The Giants will ask for a two-week roster exemption for Pierre-Paul, who” could be on the field in some form or fashion tomorrow,” Rapoport tweets.

6:10pm: The Giants will sign Jason Pierre-Paul tonight, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). JPP is officially back with big blue, though it remains to be seen when he’ll make his debut. It’ll be a one-year deal (link) and the two parties are working on finalizing the language.

There are currently conflicting reports on when JPP will make his return to the field. The most recent word came from Ralph Vacchiano of the Daily News who heard from a source that Week 12 against Washington is the most likely possibility. There was some thought that JPP could be ready for the Patriots on November 15th, but that source says that a post-bye week return is more realistic.

The Giants waited a long time to get a look at JPP’s hand and when they finally got a chance to examine it early in the season, they were not comfortable with giving him the green light. The defensive end finally circled back to Big Blue in the last week, however, and they are ostensibly satisfied with what they saw. Pierre-Paul is not only down a digit, but he reportedly also suffered a broken middle finger and also lost a piece of his thumb.

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). At the end of the season, JPP found himself 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 was fighting for a lucrative long-term deal. Big Blue reportedly came to the table with a ~$60MM offer, but Pierre-Paul turned it down.

In July, of course, things took a bizarre and unfortunate turn when JPP injured his hand in a fireworks accident. For a while there, Pierre-Paul was rather distant from the organization and even from his teammates. Despite the frosty summer between the two parties, the Giants are undoubtedly ecstatic to have their star defensive lineman back in the fold. Outside of JPP, the Giants don’t have any players who have recorded more than 7.0 sacks in a season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jason Pierre-Paul Rumors: 10/27/15

October 27th, 2015 at 5:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul reported to the team facility on Monday for the second time in the last two months, and the first time since the regular season began. Depending on the outcome of his all-important physical exam, a contract agreement between the two sides looms as a possibility. Here’s the latest on JPP and the Giants:

A Giants source believes that JPP could be ready right after the team’s bye week, which would mean a Week 12 comeback against Washington, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. There was some thought that JPP could be ready for the Patriots on November 15th, but the source said that a post-bye week return was more realistic.

Earlier updates:

There are still details to work out, but the Giants and Pierre-Paul are working through contract negotiations with the hopes of getting something done today, says Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports. If that happens, the hope inside the building is that JPP can get back in shape in time to debut in Week 10 against the Patriots.
The Giants are comfortable with where Pierre-Paul is physically, and have entered contract negotiations, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). If the two sides can work out the terms of that contract and reach an incentive-laden, one-year deal, the Giants will sign JPP as soon as today, and get a roster exemption for him to return to practice, according to Rapoport.
According to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com (Twitter links), the physical exam went “way better” this time than it did back in September, when Pierre-Paul was fresh out of surgery. Raanan is hearing that there’s more optimism now that JPP may be able to play this season.
The Giants and Pierre-Paul’s representatives have talked about working out a one-year, incentive-laden deal, which would lock up JPP through the end of the 2015 campaign, per Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (Twitter links). While there’s no guarantee such an agreement gets done, the two sides are hopeful. According to Graziano, the club’s goal would be to get JPP into the building to rehab and practice, getting him ready to perhaps return to the field by Week 10 or 12.