Giants activate Jason Pierre-Paul; will play Sunday vs. Buccaneers

A little more than four months after the fireworks accident that left him without extensive damage to his right hand, including the loss of his index finger, New York Giants defenisve end Jason Pierre-Paul will make his 2015 debut on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The team made the announcement on Saturday afternoon.

 

	New York Giants @Giants
JPP has been activated and will play vs. the Buccaneers! READ: bit.ly/1HllNLb pic.twitter.com/8lYmGg0QCm 1:19 PM - 7 Nov 2015

Pierre-Paul was designated as the Giants' franchise player in March (a one-year contract for $14.8 million), and New York offered him a $60 million contract extension. Yhat deal was pulled after the player's July 4 accident, and he did not speak to the team for weeks afterward. Pierre-Paul traveled to the team facility in September, but the Giants sent him back to Florida to continue rehab.

He returned to the club late last month, and Pierre-Paul and the Giants agreed to an incentive-laden one-year deal that allows him to recoup much of the $14.8 million he lost by not getting the franchise tender.

The 2010 first-round draft pick has practiced all week, with coach Tom Coughlin saying Pierre-Paul was in "outstanding physical condition" on Wednesday. Pierre-Paul said he no longer feels pain in his hand, and believes he can be the same player he was before his accident.

He will likely be wearing a custom-made glove; a photo of a glove he had been trying out was tweeted out this week.

 

	NFL on ESPN @ESPNNFL
One of the gloves Jason Pierre-Paul is trying out. pic.twitter.com/dqKyAjOp8l 11:56 AM - 5 Nov 2015 Twitter by:NFL on ESPN@ESPNNFL

Though sacks are not the only indication of a team's pass-rushing success, the Giants have an NFL-low nine through eight games. Pierre-Paul totaled 12.5 last year. Pierre-Paul has 42 sacks through his first five seasons.