It was 10 years ago this weekend when a Fourth of July fireworks accident changed the life of Jason Pierre-Paul. He lost 2.5 fingers ... altering the trajectory of his career.
He did return to the field after that; he played nine seasons after the injury (winning a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, to pair with the one he won with the New York Giants in 2011). But "JPP'' understandably wonders what else he might have achieved ...
And might still be able to achieve.
He wants to make a comeback now, as unlikely as that seems at age 36. ... and he wants to play for the Giants again.
“I think that’ll be dope,” Pierre-Paul recently told Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. “Tremendous. To go back somewhere where my career started . . . the fans know me and know the type of player that I am. I’ll always be that type of player and just give them everything I got, which I know it’ll be more than enough.”
JPP has 94.5 career sacks, so the resume is there.
Pierre-Paul last played in the league in 2023 when he appeared in two games for the Dolphins and one game for the Saints ... all of which makes a comeback seem rather unlikely.
But ...
"I can still do it,'' he insisted.
The Giants have shown no inclination for a reunion here; the last time Pierre-Paul played significant playing time in the league was with the Baltimore Ravens in 2022 after signing a one-year, $1.35 million deal. He appeared in 14 games with 13 starts and posted 26 tackles with 17 solo, three sacks, five tackles for loss, an interception and five passes defended.
If football is behind him? He seems satisfied with another goal, as Pierre-Paul now spends time warning others about playing with fireworks.
“My message to kids is you never know how life is going to go,” Pierre-Paul told Raanan. “Don’t put yourself in a predicament that you’re going to regret later.”
He also realizes that, despite having only 7.5 fingers, he’s still alive. Which fuels him.
“You get another chance of it every day,” Pierre-Paul said. “So why not be great at what you got going on?”